chapter five

seth

"Did you get what I need?" He asked gruffly. They we're both hidden in a corridor with both Nate and Levi standing at the entrance. Seth knew from experience that they didn't need to fear getting caught doing the transaction because most, if not all, of the prison officers were aware of who he was and were too afraid to say anything to the Governor.

Toby took off his backpack and unzipped it, pulling out a few packets of cigarettes. "H-here." He said, reluctantly handing them over.

Seth glared at the short man as his jaw clenched with anger. "That's not all though is it, Toby?"

Now a little more nervous, the exact reaction Seth expected, the man pulled out a small puffy white pillow from his backpack. It was snatched from him while he stuttered, "T-this is the l-last t-time. If they find out, I could be in p-prison for another f-five years."

He grimaced at the stuttering. It reminded him of his tiny brown-haired angel, only he thought she was strangely adorable when she did it. It was just wrong to associate Toby with the innocent girl.

Toby was a prisoner and was charged with pedophilia, though he pleaded innocent, and he worked in the laundry part of the prison. The other prisoners hated people like him but only tolerated the man because he was one of the people that determined whether you had itchy clothes or not.

He was especially useful to Seth because he could get him the softer blankets and better washed clothes. Because many of the prison officers stayed in the residential area of the prison, the lazy ones would throw their washing in with the inmates'. This meant loose cigarette packets or drugs might be left in pockets and sometimes even chocolate bars.

People relied on these things and Seth was more than happy to threaten Toby for them if it meant he could take them to sell. He smiled at the man but not the friendly 'let's braid each others hair and get bobo tea together' type smile. It was more of a 'you're annoying me. I'm going to kill you' type smile.

Seth chuckled darkly and stepped closer. "You remember why you agreed to do me these favours don't you Toby?" From the corner of his eye, he saw Levi nudge Nate to get his attention.

He could hear the guy gulp loudly. "Y-you said you'd kill my f-family if I didn't."

"That's right. Well done." He mockingly praised like a teacher congratulating their student. "Do you not care about them anymore?"

"I-I-I- "

"Aren't they the ones you want to go home to when you leave this place? Your wife, Anne is it? And your two twins, right? Lisa and Toby Jr?" He said, smirking as Toby began to grow angry but was clearly too afraid to stand up against him.

"Y-y-ye- "

Seth interrupted him again but this time with a kick on his side, knocking him harshly on the concrete floor. "Do you want them to feel this pain? Is this why you're refusing? Huh?" He said, whilst kicking him a few more times.

He didn't want his hands red and bruised from the beating because for some reason, he didn't want Daisy to know. He didn't want her to see want everybody else did, a monster - the devil.

He waved his two right-hand men over and they immediately knew what to do. Both took over and beat the guy until he was curled into a ball and groaning in pain. "Ok that's enough." Seth ordered before they got carried away and killed him.

Crouching down, he said in a low voice, "I want pants small enough to fit a tiny woman." He didn't need to ask, he knew he'd get them.

"A tiny woman ay? Didn't know Nate needed knew pants." Levi joked, making them both roll their eyes.

Seth inwardly cursed at having been heard, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the softer side Daisy brought out of him. He knew that she would appreciate not being on the verge of tripping over her pant legs every time she took a step but he wasn't sure why he even cared. He had only met her that morning.

Sure, she was beautiful and intrigued him in a way no other woman had done before, but it didn't explain his sudden urge to protect her and be with her at all times. He even had his men watch over her. That was something he couldn't explain.

He didn't bother coming up with a response to Levi so he walked away as their work was done. Swiftly following behind, the ridiculously blonde haired man smirked, saying, "so Daisy is nice." Hearing no reply, he continued, "I think she like us."

Seth glared straight ahead and walked with heavy strides to get away from his so called friend. He wasn't stupid. Levi just wanted a reaction but he wasn't going to get one.

"I've not had a girl in a while. D'you think she'll want to f- "

Within seconds, Seth had him pinned to the wall with his arm on his neck, cutting off Levi's air supply. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence. She's mine." He said in a raucous tone without thinking.

"Seth, you know he's kidding." Nate hesitantly touched his shoulder, trying to pull him off the gasping man. "He's an idiot with a death wish." He added.

From the slightly pained grin on Levi's face, he was enjoying the reaction Seth had from the small comment. He gave one more glare of warning and then let go, throwing the pillow to Nate and telling him to put it in his cell. With nothing more to say, he left.

"Invite us to the wedding!" He heard Levi yell behind him.

He flipped him off without turning around and walked to the small empty storage room that he would always use to get some privacy. Locking the door behind him, Seth pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit one of the cigarettes. There was a vent in the room and no fire alarm so it was the perfect place to smoke.

He sighed, feeling much calmer than before. Although it shouldn't surprise him that the other prisoners wanted her, it still angered him.

Others might assume the feelings he had were because he hadn't seen a girl in a while other than the nurse and the dinner ladies. Before being sent to prison four years ago, he had the occasional one night stands with many different women but none of them held a candle to Daisy. That meant he hadn't had sex since he was twenty but it felt like an eternity.

Nevertheless, he knew his lack of sex wasn't the reason for his attraction to her. He wanted to protect her from the other prisoners and she would definitely need it. He had no idea what she was doing there but someone must've answered his prayers and sent him an angel because admittedly, he was extremely grateful for her, not that he'd ever tell anybody that.

When the bell rang to tell people to go to their cells, he decided to wait a few minutes before he eventually put the cigarette out and crushed it with the bottom of his shoe. Despite having some power over the guards, they'd still be able to punish him if he clearly broke the rules in front of everyone, especially the governor. So, he couldn't be wandering about when everyone else was supposed to be in their cells.

The hallways were empty by the time he got to the main part of the prison. With his thoughts occupied by a certain new prisoner, he didn't see someone come around the corner and bump into him.

From their petite frame and brown head of silky hair with a hint of lavender, he immediately knew it was Daisy. He rested his hands on the sides of her waist and pulled her closer when she tried to get away. "Hello, kitten." He said quietly.

Her head sprang up at the sound of his surprisingly soft voice, making him inwardly smile at the fact she seemed a little less scared when she knew it was him. "Hi." Her voice was barely above a whisper and if it wasn't for their silent surroundings, he wouldn't have heard her.

Seth frowned when he noticed her red, puffy eyes and the slight remnants of tears. Without hesitation, he rubbed the pad of his thumb on her soft cheek to wipe away the moisture away but stopped when she flinched, the action making a piercing pain shoot through his chest.

He ignored it and asked, "why were you crying?" His tone was demanding and angry. Not at her, but at whatever caused the tears. He felt like going on a rampage just because of it.

"I w-wasn't." She lied, unconvincingly and put her hands on his in a weak attempt to escape as she squirmed in his hold.

He felt the same warmth of her hands he had felt that morning when she calmed him down from attacking that shaky boy. However, it wasn't the same because her skin were previously baby soft but now it was extremely rough against his. Confused and getting increasingly worried by the second, he held her hands and turned them to see her palms.

Shock filled him at the various bloody cuts and bruises on her dainty little hands. The same hands that were so delicate that he felt the need to handle them like precious china even without the injuries.

"What happened?" In other words, who do I have to kill?

"Nothing." She squeaked, staring wide eyed at him as his jaw clenched.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "you better tell me the truth now, kitten. I won't ask again."

With a sigh of defeat, she reluctantly explained, "I have a job with bricks but they didn't give me gloves and I'm late because he m-made me wheel the wheelbarrow a-and everyone k-kept looking at m-me and m-making fun of m-me."

When she started to tear up at the end, Seth wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. Well, as comforting as he could manage. "Shh Shh. It's ok, angel. I'll deal with them. You just need to tell me the name of the bad men, ok?"

She shook her head in his chest. "I don't want you to get hurt." She mumbled, adorably unaware of what he was capable of. He wanted to laugh at her words.

"Was it the leading prison officer that was mean to you and didn't give you gloves?" Seth wasn't letting the topic go until he got an answer and thankfully, she gave him one with a small nod of her head. "Ok. Now, let's clean those hands of yours before they get infected."

He led her to the toilets, only passing one or two people on the way but no one really cared what they were doing. Seeing the dirty bathroom, Daisy cowered behind him but with a little push, she went inside. He made sure there was nobody in there first though.

Scowling at the grime covered room, he looked for the cleanest place and saw a sink that was a little less disgusting than the rest. He wet a paper towel and quickly cleaned it up, before holding Daisy by the waist and sitting her on top of it with his legs swinging off the side. "Give me your hand." He told her, giving her absolutely no choice in the matter.

"You don't have to do this." She said as she timidly gave him one of her hands.

He didn't respond as he carefully cleaned the cuts and scratches with a wet paper towel. Seth knew he didn't have to help her but he needed too for his own sake.

"You should go to the nurse to get it cleaned up properly." He suggested when she winced in pain. He was no expert but he has had enough scratched knuckles from fights to know how to clean them sufficiently.

"I don't want to." She said stubbornly.

He looked up and as suspected, she was pouting her bottom lip. He would've given anything to plant a kiss on that ruby pink lip but it was too soon. Instead, he smirked and teased, "afraid of going to the doctors?"

Not even embarrassed, she nodded.

"Well, you should get over your fear and go anyway if you want this to be bandaged up." He said.

Obviously not wanting to argue with him, she changed the subject. "So, where were you at lunch?"

"I was busy. Why? Miss me?" The corners of his mouth quirked up.

"No." Such a little liar. From the blush coating her cheeks, the answer was yes. "Were you doing bad stuff?" She asked innocently.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, angel." He was unwilling to give the details and scare her away but it was probably too late. With the rumours about him floating around, she most likely had a pretty good idea about who he was already.

When he finished, her hands were less bloody but were still extremely sore from the looks of it. He held them both up and kissed around her palms gently. "All done."

She thanked him shyly and again when he helped her down from the sink. "I should go. Owen is probably worried."

"Who the f*ck is Owen?!" Seth nearly growled out. Why did it sound like she needed to go home to her husband as he watched their five kids while she got sidetracked with talking to a friend at the supermarket?! He wanted to know who this person was that would apparently be worried about her. He thought she only knew him and his friends.

His finger nails dug into his palms as his urge to punch something, or someone, increased. Through a red haze, he watched Daisy mess with her long sleeves as she mumbled out, "he's my cellmate."

He grinded his teeth together, trying to calm down. "You're not alone in your own cell?" She shook her head. "I'll sort it." He said and after a minute of silence, he told her to go, possibly harsher than he intended to.

"I-I don't know the w-way." She said, a silent question asking if he could show her to her cell.

"Let's go." He grumbled and walked ahead without waiting for her.

Her head stayed down as he walked her back to her room. The air was tense while neither of them spoke a word, both lost in thought. Seth's head was consumed with questions about her relationship with this Owen boy. Did he like her? Most probably. Did she like him? I better f*cking hope not! Were they together? Did he touch her? Who is he?

Seth had an expression of anger and his muscles were tense so it was no wonder that Daisy didn't attempt to make conversation. He wouldn't have been surprised if she ran away from him.

When they reached her cell, she muttered out a quick thank you and went to scurry in but before she could, he took a hold of her wrist. Looking inside, he was a little more relieved to know it was Shaky, who was only sent down because he hacked into a company. It was better than Daisy sharing a cell with a rapist or a murderer. Although, it didn't ease his rage because he didn't want his angel to be in a room with another male let alone sleeping in one.

Sending the boy a furious glare, he threatened, "you keep your hands to yourself or I swear I'll murder you Shaky." Owen nodded rapidly on his cot while Daisy gasped beside him. He looked at her and saw a small ounce of fear in her eyes. Cursing himself for being so careless with his emotions, he softened and caressed her wrist with his thumb. "I'm sorry for being so angry, angel." He said tenderly.

"A-are you mad at m-me?" She whispered with her head down.

"No. Of course not." He then ushered her into the cell but not before kissing her quickly on the temple. With the red on her cheeks, he didn't doubt that he had as much of an effect on her as she had on him.

Whilst he walked away to his own cell, he knew that from then on, he'd do whatever it took to protect her, even if it cost him his own life. She was too pure for the world and captivated him completely because of it. But most importantly, she was all his.