Chapter 3

"You didn't have to come home with me, Cynthia," Jenny said to her secretary, Cynthia Sumner.

The young woman looked at her boss, studying her. She knew Jenny had seemed off lately, but it had gotten worse. She was sure Jenny was no longer sleeping, not to mention the fact that she was drinking again. She never anticipated wishing Gibbs was in Washington, but his vacation had come at the absolutely worst time, as far as Jenny was concerned. "I'll stay, for awhile. Make sure you don't need anything."

Jenny took a deep breath and slowly let it out, watching as Matt went from room to room, checking to make sure nothing was disturbed, but she had a bad feeling that something was wrong, something that was confirmed when Matt returned too quickly to have checked the entire house. "Director, Cynthia, I'm going to need you to go in the study and stay there until I say to come out."

Cynthia frowned, knowing that his instructions weren't protocol. After Jenny's last bodyguard had been killed, Gibbs had been instrumental in the handpicking of her new guard, a tough, protective ex-Marine he knew he could depend on, one that answered to Gibbs as well or even better than he did the director. "What's wrong?"

Jenny moved past Matt, going in the direction the man had come, towards her bedroom. The bed was made, not unusual in itself had it not been Noemi's day off, and rose petals were strewn on top of it. Candles were lit and placed around the room, the CD player was piping quiet jazz in the background, and a gift basket of some sort was sitting on the dresser.

"Jenny?" Cynthia asked, seeing her friend turn a whiter shade of pale, managing to stand, but just barely.

Matt moved both women back to Jenny's study and Cynthia dialed a number she knew almost by heart, watching her boss, not sure what was going on, but more than a little frightened herself.

Shelby had had no intention on coming in on a Saturday, even for half a day, but she wanted to get more information on Davidson's release. It was one thing to hear about short sentences for rapists, but quite another to see the effects of it. She still remembered the case that had put Jenny in harm's way, going undercover as bait for a rapist that had been attacking female Marines in the D.C. area. Her brother hadn't liked the idea at all and been happy when the director had decided to scrap the mission, go at the investigation in a different direction. They had assumed Davidson hadn't taken the bait, so Jenny had been alone, vulnerable, unprotected, just like his other victims.

"Damn," Shelby said, her cell phone startling her. "Hello."

" Shelby." Cynthia was relieved to hear her voice. If she couldn't reach Gibbs, Shelby was the second best choice, both to know what was going on and to take care of Jenny.

"Cynthia. What's wrong?" She sensed that the assistant wasn't calling to make an appointment for lunch.

"She was running on empty, so Matt and I brought her home. I think someone broke in…Her bedroom is all set up, there's roses on the bed, candles, music, it's some sort of…"

Shelby interrupted quickly. "Where is she? Is she okay? Where's Matt?"

"She's here with me. We're in the study. She's shaky, pale, but she's not hurt. Matt's checking the rest of the house."

"I've got to make some phone calls, but I'm leaving right now," she said, reaching for the gun she kept locked in her desk drawer. "Keep her away from the bedroom and stay…"

"I'm not leaving her until you get here. Just…hurry."

Shelby hung up, putting the gun in her purse, barely looking up when the door opened. "Teriyaki…" Tony started, stopping when he saw the look on her face. " Shelby? What's wrong?"

"It's Jenny."

He frowned. "Is it about last night?" Shelby hadn't told him what the two of them had discussed, but she never had really gotten back in a good mood after Jenny's visit.

She nodded, her blue eyes connecting with his own. "Come with me." He nodded, not really questioning her, just hurrying to the elevator with her, going along for the ride.