Anton just stared at him, half convinced this must be some sort of prank.
“I can take you to Annette, and you can get her side of the story. She’s going to have to be punished for this. Her behavior was just… so extreme. Even I can’t see just letting this kind of thing go. And it wasn’t like the rest of us were just letting Brian do what he did. He locked us out and had all the keys. We couldn’t get in, and it wasn’t like we could call a locksmith.”
“Let me talk to Shannon first.”
Gabe nodded and led Anton upstairs to the second floor where Shannon’s room was.
“Come down to the dungeons when you’re done.” Gabe said, pressing a key into Anton’s hand.
He unlocked the door to Shannon’s room. She was lying in bed, covered up, softly crying. Anton pulled a chair up to the side of the bed.
“I want to talk about what happened today; sit up and talk to me.”
She sat up, and he could see the bandages covering the top of her chest and her back.
“What did he do?” Anton didn’t even bother asking what she had done. As far as he was concerned, there wasn’t a crime large enough to warrant this. Shannon had only been in the house a few days, and she’d been a great addition. She got along with everybody. He’d already been in conversations with some potential buyers.
And now, here Brian was, damaging the merchandise.
“Whip. Knife,” she whispered. It seemed like all she could say. But it was enough.
Anton took a long, deep breath. He didn’t know Brian’s full history. Only Lindsay knew that. But over the years, Brian had let slip bits and pieces of his troubled past. There was a degree to which Anton was willing to let Brian’s behavior slide. But in this moment, he was a liability to the house.
Could any of his security expertise or willingness to kill be worth having such a loose cannon on the premises?
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks.
“Of course not. Why would I kill you?”
“It’s going to scar. Badly. And Brian said...”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what Brian said. Nobody is killing you.”
“I-I can help around the house,” she said. “You have a spa, and I have spa experience. Waxing, massages, nails, hair. All of it. I could help.”
Anton nodded.
She jumped when he took her hand in his.
“Shannon, I’m very sorry for this. This never should have happened. No one is going to hurt you. I will kill him first.”
She looked hopeful for the first time, but she was haunted. Even beyond the physical scars, she would have deep psychological trauma. She would need the shrink. Possibly some drugs. Maybe just therapy. He didn’t know. This was a nightmare.
“Are you moving okay?” he asked.
“Y-yes, Sir. The doctor said he didn’t get anything too deep, and all the nerves are fine. It just hurts.”
He was glad at least Lindsay had been at the house today and was able to act quickly. “I’m going to leave your door unlocked. You can come out when you’re ready. Maybe go down to the kitchen and have some hot tea.”
She started bawling then. Somehow he thought her tears were about more than just what Brian had done. He stood in the doorway and waited a moment to see if she would say something else. Finally she did.
“I thought I was going to have a different life. Now no one will want me.”
“Hey. Stop that. It’s true we can’t place you with someone with the scars you’ll have, but that doesn’t mean nobody wants you. My girl likes you quite a lot, and I’ve seen the way you look at her. And the guys adore you. We aren’t locking you in a convent. It will work out. I promise.”
“Okay. But what if he hurts me again?”
“He won’t.”
Anton went to the fitness room where he knew he’d find Brian. If he wasn’t playing video games, he was running on the treadmill. This would be a time he’d run.
Anton marched up to him and pushed the red button on the machine slowing it to a stop. Brian glowered.
“What the fuck?” Anton said.
“It’s the fucking drugs. I told him. I fucking told the doc. I said these pills fuck me up. I know it was too far. Okay? I KNOW. Gabe already read me the riot act. It’s the goddamn drugs. I flushed them. I’m not taking them anymore. I can’t even think straight when I’m on them. She smarted off, and I just wanted to fucking kill her. I almost did. And it doesn’t help that she looks just like the witch. Like she could be her fucking goddamn daughter. FUCK.”
Anton knew if he asked for clarification about who the witch was, Brian wouldn’t tell him. It was something from the past. If Anton acknowledged it or asked any questions, Brian would just shut down.
“Lindsay said you can’t just go off the drugs. You have to wean,” Anton said reasonably.
“NO!”
“But the withdrawals...”
“I don’t give a good goddamn about the withdrawals! I can’t have that poison in my system. You can’t trust me with it. I can’t trust me with it. I have to be in control. Do you understand? I’m not in control. I’m so fucking tired. I have to sleep.” Brian got off the treadmill and started for the door.
“What about Annette?”
“What about her?”
“Gabe said she had some kind of breakdown. Lots of screaming.”
“That was her? I thought it was inside my head. I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything. I have gaps in my head. I have to sleep.” He left without another word.
Anton would have to make sure Lindsay monitored Brian during the withdrawal. And he had to be kept away from all the girls until he was safe. Brian was dangerous under the best circumstances; still, maybe he was right about the drugs. There was a difference in dangerous and out of control. Brian was always dangerous. Adding out of control on top of that was a recipe for disaster.
Finally Anton went down to the dungeons. Annette was locked in cell B. When he opened the door he found her crouched in a corner looking wild with blood on her hands.
“Are you hurt?”
“GET OUT!” She picked up a paddle from the ground beside her and threw it at him.
Anton jumped out of the way just in time.
“Did he hurt you?”
Annette glared at him. “He sliced. She screamed. He sliced. She screamed. Blood everywhere.” Then Annette started to scream.
Anton left the cell and locked the door and went in search of Lindsay. He needed more information, and he knew he wasn’t going to get it from her in that state. He found the shrink in his office.
“Tell me what you know about what happened with Annette.”
“The short version?”
“I don’t care which version.”
“She led a riot. That’s why all the girls are locked in their rooms. Punishments will be forthcoming for all of them. You can mete out whatever punishment you feel necessary to your girl.”
“She’s got blood on her hands, and she’s screaming like a mental patient.” He wasn’t sure punishment was the sanest course.
Lindsay nodded. “She was very upset by what happened to Shannon. Apparently, Brian did what he did while she was outside the door pounding on it and screaming at him. Then he stormed out of the room, and she went to Shannon. Brian came to me, said he did a bad thing, but wouldn’t elaborate. I found Annette downstairs trying to stop the blood. I would have cleaned her up after I took care of Shannon, but she wouldn’t let me. I injected her with a mild sedative instead, and she took a nap. It must have worn off.”