Chapter 5

The group therapy session took place in one of the classrooms. There were seven chairs positioned in a circle. Leo sat on one side of Newt and Scott on the other. Newt hadn't seen Scott much since the events of their first day but knew he'd ended up in a cell with Thomas.

Scott brushed a wrinkle from his black trousers.

"He wasn't interested," Scott mumbled for Newt's ears only. A few strands of his hair dangled in front of his eyes, like he was trying to hide.

"Huh?"

"The top dog. He didn't want to know. Just like Bull said."

Scott sighed, tracking the prisoner stepping into the circle. Newt swallowed hard at the sight of Shaw, wearing yet another long-sleeve top that clung to his body. He wore a single glove on his right hand.

Bull caught Newt staring at it. "Ever read Of Mice and Men?" he asked, laughing.

Bull no longer wore the nose splint, but the dark bruises beneath his eyes had turned plum purple.

Shaw took the seat on the opposite side of the circle, sandwiched between Thomas and Bull.

Mickey had told Newt he'd recognise the top dog on the wing purely by his walk, like his balls were made of solid brass and slowing his stride, but it was more than that. Shaw had an aura around him, a power he emitted.

Shaw stared at Newt for a long time before finally displaying his shark-like smile.

Newt still felt like he had too many teeth. They were white and sharp-looking.

"Baby Briggs," he said, and his dark eyes glinted.

Thomas and Bull snorted, repeating Shaw's words under their breaths.

"Shaw…" Riley warned.

Riley stood by the door, propping it open with his foot. He divided his attention between watching the six of them and craning his neck to look down the corridor they had come from.

Newt glanced at Leo, sitting rigid with his eyes on Shaw. His hands were on his powerful thighs, curled into fists. Him and Shaw looked evenly matched.

"Finally," Riley muttered.

Heels click-clacked closer, then a woman appeared in the doorway. She wore a tight pencil dress with a daring split up the side. Her brown hair hung down in waves, and the V-neck of her dress flashed the top of her cleavage. She wore thick-framed black glasses, but when she turned to Riley, there was no reflection in the glass. They were purely aesthetic.

"Sorry," she said, unwrapping a silk scarf from around her neck. It was the same dark red as her lipstick and only the width of a gift-wrap ribbon. "Traffic?—"

Riley hummed. "That's what you said last month."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well, unless you change the time of this session?—"

"Or you could leave your house a littler earlier…"

"I'm here now," she said, holding out her scarf to Riley.

As if on instinct he took it, only to ball it in his hands, then toss it over the only vacant chair.

"Oh," the woman said, looking at the circle. "We've got some new faces." Her eyes lingered on Scott, skimmed over Newt, then stayed on Leo. She nipped her bottom lip, leaving the indent of her teeth as she gave Leo the once-over.

Leo didn't spare her a glance, still eyeballing Shaw.

"I'm Dr Melody Fawks, but you can call me Mel. It's so nice of you to join us."

"Newt and Scott arrived earlier this month," Riley said. "Leo's been at Brixton for almost nine months but has declined these sessions up until now."

Mel grinned. "I'm sure by the end of my session, you'll be kicking yourself for not joining sooner."

When Leo didn't reply, Newt tapped his foot to Leo's ankle.

"Yeah," Leo managed, "I'm sure."

Mel took her seat in the circle. Bull's eyes were on her bare left leg, exposed by the split in her dress. Newt heard him swallow his drool.

"Would you like to introduce yourselves?" It was phrased like a question, but the way she looked at them told Newt it wasn't. She pointed at Scott first, who released a weathered sigh.

"My name is Scott…"

Mel nodded. "Would you like to tell us all a bit about yourself? Maybe share something with the group that you've never told anyone."

She leaned forward, face expectant, like they were exchanging gossip. Riley, leaning against the wall behind her, dramatically rolled his eyes.

"I'm Scott. I'm twenty-six. I'm in here for blackmail. And I…I have a very talented tongue."

He was staring at Shaw when he delivered the last line. Riley pushed off from the wall, gaping. Scott sat up straight, tucked his hair behind his ear, then placed both hands on one of his knees. His blue eyes were soft, and his pink lips were parted, subtly pouted, as he spoke in a calm, slow voice.

"And talented hands and talented lips," A flit of Scott's tongue wetted his bottom lip. "And an incredibly talented?—"

"Enough!" Riley snapped. His face had turned red, and he glowered at Scott. "That's completely inappropriate."

Shaw smirked. He glanced from Riley to Scott. "I'm sure you do, pretty boy, but like I told you before, I'm just not interested."

"You don't know what you're missing."

"And I don't want to know either." Shaw winked. "Use your talents elsewhere."

Scott slumped. His gaze found the floor. "It was worth one last shot."

"Have you no shame?" Thomas hissed. "Offering yourself up like a bitch in heat. It's cringeworthy."

"Thomas!" Riley shouted. He clapped a hand to his forehead. "We're three minutes into this?—"

Scott untucked his hair again and let it drift in front of his face. "You don't get to judge me?—"

"I already have." Thomas sneered. "I know what you do on the outside."

"Which is exactly why I have to offer myself up. It's either that or it gets taken from me anyway."

Bull shifted forward. "What does he do?"

"Male escort," Thomas said, not masking his disgust.

"And what about you?" Scott asked. "What is it you do other than terrify animals and give children nightmares?"

Thomas's eyes flattened to slits. "You don't know anything about me."

"Are those tattoos an improvement?" Scott said, gesturing to Thomas's look. "You must've been one ugly motherfucker before all that work."

Riley stepped into the circle. "Scott!"

"Talking about work," Thomas hissed, "I'm surprised your overused arsehole hasn't swallowed that chair you're sitting on."

"Why? You jealous it's seeing more action than you?"

"I see plenty of action."

"Only after you strangle it to death and begin swallowing it whole."

Thomas snarled. "Yours is the only dick in here I wouldn't swallow, not even if my life depended on it."

"Well, that's good because your mouth is the only one in here I wouldn't put my dick into, even if my life depended on it."

Shaw sat up straight. "Enough with the dick talk!" he bellowed, then he snorted as he glanced at Riley covering his red face with his hands, murmuring under his breath. It sounded like he was counting to ten over and over. "You're making Officer Riley uncomfortable."

Riley peeked through his fingers. "It would be great if we could have one session that doesn't turn into a slagging match."

Thomas and Scott turned away, both scowling with their arms crossed.

Shaw spread his thighs, getting comfortable in his chair. "It's clear to see there's no love lost between you, but just to put your minds at rest… Thomas, you look good exactly as you are, and you will get plenty of action once you get out of here, and Scott, I don't know what horror stories you've heard, but you're safe on this wing. There's only one person in here that's got to watch himself."

"Baby Briggs," Bull said while coughing.

Leo ground his teeth. Newt winced at the cracking.

"Thank you for that, Shaw," Mel said. "I think we should move on?—"

"To Baby Briggs." Shaw smiled. "I'd like to hear his introduction."

Bull snickered.

"My name is Newt."

"Baby Briggs," Shaw repeated. He hiked up one of his eyebrows.

Mel smiled. "Introduce yourself to the room."

She didn't even look at Newt.

"I'm twenty-one," Newt continued. "I'm here for accidental death by gross negligence."

Leo remained Mel's only focus, but she still asked, "And do you want to share with the group something you've never shared with anyone."

Now that was pressure.

"I stole a priceless moon rock from a museum, and it sits on my shelf at home."

Stone was going to kill him.

"How nice," Mel said in a dreamy voice. "Now…Leo."

"What?" Leo asked.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" she said sweetly while folding one leg over the other, exposing her bare knee and thigh. Bull groaned, slipping down in his seat.

Leo turned to her. "No."

Mel's smile twitched. "I'm not sure you quite understand how these sessions work. Your life is in my hands. You have to participate, otherwise I won't be able to tick all the boxes that may grant you early release."

"That's fine by me."

Mel's eyes flashed. "Then there really is no need for you to be here."

Leo glanced at Newt. "My name is Leo. I'm almost thirty-three. I got four years for armed robbery."

"Four years?" Bull shouted. "Is that it?"

Shaw nudged him. "Baby Briggs got a measly two for murdering a guy."

"Accidental death," Leo said, "by gross negligence."

"The Briggs family is toxic." Shaw chuckled to himself. "They're all a bit crazy, like rabid dogs. They should've been put down."

"You know nothing," Newt snapped.

Shaw wagged a finger. "Tread very carefully, Baby Briggs."

"Stop calling me that."

"No." Shaw crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "And you'd better get used to it. I think it's about time I introduce myself. My name is Shaw Porter. Thirty-four. I got two years for intent to supply, but while I was serving here in Brixton, I had another charge added to my sentence. A murder charge. I killed the previous top dog, smashed his head open."

Newt's breath caught in his chest. Leo noticed and shook his head. "He's mouthing off, it's all talk."

"Don't lie to him, Mr No Pain," Shaw said. "Why don't you ask Bull, he was there…"

Bull nodded while withholding a smirk. "Cracked him like a watermelon."

"And now I run the wing, and the best thing is, I no longer have to do my own dirty work. Other inmates are tripping over themselves to do it for me, and all I have to do is sit back and wait."

Leo grabbed Newt's chair and dragged him closer. He wrapped his arm around the back of Newt's chair. "Well, these other inmates will have to go through me…"

Newt pressed against him, ignoring the way Leo tensed at the contact.

"I'm sure they will," Shaw whispered.

"Enough," Riley said. "This is supposed to be a course where you understand the impact of your crimes on your victims, your communities and yourself. It's not an arena for you to threaten each other, right, Dr Fawks?"

Mel fanned her face with her hand, watching Leo with dark eyes. "Huh? Oh right, of course."

"Christ," Riley muttered. He stepped out of the circle to lean back against the wall. "Do you want me to get a goddamn napkin for your dribble?"

"That won't be necessary, Officer." Mel shot a smile around the room. "Now…where were we?"

* * *

As it was Newt's, Scott's, and Leo's first session, they mainly focused on the impact their crimes had on them personally. The incarceration, being locked away from everything they knew, and the emotions that came with it. Mel mostly talked while Scott and Newt nodded glumly, but Leo didn't pay any attention to her or the worksheet she'd passed around.

When the session ended, Shaw left first with Riley walking beside him, whispering harshly in his ear. Thomas left next, slipping his tongue out and laughing when Newt finally gave into his shudder. Scott squeezed Newt's shoulder as he passed by, his downcast expression half hidden by his hair.

Mel physically held Leo back. She blushed, letting go of his arm. "Sorry, I just, the chairs are awfully heavy, could you?"

Leo sighed and began stacking them.

Newt left the room and leaned against the wall of the corridor to wait. Bull complained loudly about Leo stealing his girl, then stopped in front of Newt. He smiled. "How's it going, Baby Briggs?"

Newt turned away.

"Don't be like that…"

"Like what?"

Bull touched Newt's shoulder. Newt shrugged him off.

"It's not black-and-white in here," Bull said. He frowned. "Actually, it is, but it's like… It's like a barcode."

"A barcode?"

"We're good then bad, good then bad. Shaw, he's my guy. He's the boss, but that doesn't mean I hate you, doesn't mean we're enemies in here."

"Your boss wants me dead."

Bull cringed. "That's what he says…"

"What does that mean?"

"If he wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now. I think it's more…he wants you scared, maybe roughed up a little, a few bruises."

"Fantastic." Newt held out his hands. "That sounds great."

"I told him you seemed alright, naive, not all with it perhaps."

"Thanks for the assessment."

Bull tipped his head back, chuckling.

"Done," Leo said, stepping out. He stiffened when he saw Bull. "Problem?"

"Yeah, actually." Bull glanced at Leo's pecs. "You should cover them up. You're distracting my girl."

"Your girl?"

"Yeah. Melody."

Leo turned his head. "You're welcome to her, Bull."

Leo gestured for Newt to follow.

Shaw had a brass-balls walk, and Leo had something similar. He strode through the corridor with squared shoulders, not stopping or moving for anyone. Newt acted as his shadow, not sparing any of the other inmates a glance, but he heard sniggers of the nickname Shaw had given him.

Baby Briggs.

"I don't want any prisoners to go through you," Newt said once they had returned to the relative safety of their cell.

Leo pushed the door closed and visibly relaxed. His stern expression melted into one of amusement. "They won't. That's the whole idea of the bodyguard thing."

"That's not what I meant." Newt perched on the edge of Leo's bed. He pulled at his sleeves. "I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

"I can't get hurt, remember?" Leo ran his finger beneath his tattoo, underlining the words.

"Of course you can. Just because you can't feel it, doesn't mean you're not hurt."

Leo flicked the kettle on.

"You've been here for nine months," Newt said. "You must've heard about Shaw…"

"I heard about the incident…"

"And?"

"And prisoners exaggerate."

Newt shuddered. "Bull said Shaw cracked him like a watermelon."

"I wasn't here when Shaw did what he did, but I've been here long enough to understand why Bull got his name."

"Huh?"

"He's a chronic bullshitter," Leo said. "You can't believe a word out of his mouth."

"But Shaw did kill the previous top dog?"

Leo sighed. "Yes."

"And he wants me dead."

Leo set up mugs on the desk, loading them with tea bags and sugar.

"I'm not going to let that happen. You told Stone you trust me."

"I do."

His eyes were warm, golden brown as he smiled. "Then trust me."