Sharon Raydor had an uneasy feeling all day. Staying cooped up in a hotel room was not an option when Brenda could quite possibly be putting her life in jeopardy. She walked for what seemed like hours. The cold, wet London night chilled her to her bones but on she walked eventually ending up across the street from the address Brenda gave her that morning.

Most of the lights in the three story old-world stone building were lit but she couldn't see any figures moving around behind the heavy curtains. Sitting atop a short stone wall, she pulled out her cellphone and checked for any new messages.

From behind her, Philip Stroh unwrapped the silk scarf from around Brenda's neck and handed it to a nervous G. R. Hawthorne.

"You were right; I'll give you that. I had a partner in LA and London and Las Vegas and…well the list goes on. Griffin did all the…let's say…dirty work."

"How did you find me?" Brenda asked as her eyes darted quickly around the room.

"There's no need to look for an escape. There isn't one." And with that Griff tied her wrists tightly together with the scarf. "I always know how to find you. I'm under your skin, Brenda." He slowly pronounced each letter of her name.

She felt a chill slide down her spine. He was right. He was under her skin and she put him there. Allowed him there.

"Once you…retired…I knew you couldn't resist the job and especially not the CIA. Oh…and your friend, Stuart," Stroh grimaced. "He met with a harrowing end."

Stuart was the first person in the CIA who took her under his wing and taught her everything he knew. He saw the potential in her right away and encouraged her to push her limits far beyond what she thought she was capable of.

With a start, Stroh jerked her body out of the chair and forced her down the hall and up the stairs. She stumbled the whole way but he never let her go. Griffin bound ahead of them and opened one of the doors at the top of the stairs. Stroh wrangled her inside and forcefully threw her small body onto the bed. As much as she fought back she was still no match for him.

As she tried to crawl to the center of the large bed, Stroh grabbed her by her dress. The thin blue sheath ripped like tissue paper and Brenda was left huddled on her knees in the bed wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

Instinctively she covered herself as best she could but knew it would do no good. Again she searched for an escape but with Stroh on one side and Griffin on the other there was no way out. As each of the men tied her arms and legs to the bedposts, Brenda's body went limp in response.

But her mind went to the one place that was always the safest. In her mind, Sharon Raydor was standing in the doorway of Brenda's office with her hands on her waist and a barely-there smile that only Brenda Leigh could decipher. Her eyes took in the whole form.

She knew Sharon...the public Sharon…the Sharon who had a scar across her right hand…the Sharon whose eyes burned deep green when something angered her…but she hadn't gotten a chance to know the private Sharon. Brenda's heart broke a little knowing that now she never would.

Her body was being stretched and pulled across the bed in an almost unbearable fashion. Her shoulders and hips burned with tension. Her skin crawled as Stroh ran a cold finger up her bare stomach and over her satin black bra.

She stared deep into his dark, cold eyes searching for something…anything that could help her. But it was like staring into an abyss. Never in her career had she met someone so callous and coldblooded. Until this minute she had never wished she had killed him on her kitchen floor that night so long ago. She didn't want his head blown across her wall in front of a young boy but if she had it to do over again she gladly would and deal with the consequences later.

Brenda didn't hear what was said. The blood and adrenaline were ringing in her ears. But she heard Stroh say the word "first" then on her left she saw Griff hurriedly stripping out of his clothes. The lump in her throat nearly shut off her air supply. Every muscle in her body tensed in anticipation of the worst violation she could imagine.

As Griff's rough hand touched her bare thigh and tore her lace panties off of her Stroh reached into the waistband of his pants and pulled out a gun. Immediately he aimed and fired point blank.

Brenda Leigh Johnson let out the most blood-curdling scream as Griff's lifeless body collapsed on top of her then slid off the bed onto the floor . She had never given over to her emotions before but she was now incapable of being rational. Her body was in fight or flight mode.

As Sharon stood up to walk back towards her hotel, she read one more message. But before she could finish, a single gun shot followed by a piercing scream filled the quiet empty streets. Her head and eyes immediately turned towards the residence across the street. She knew Brenda was in there and even though she'd never heard another human being scream that way, she knew that was her.

Her heart was beating in her throat as she raced across the street. Pushing open the front door she impulsively grabbed at her right hip for her weapon but quickly realized it wasn't there. Here she was a civilian.

She didn't know why but her body immediately bound up the staircase before her. Adrenaline and fear carried her almost to the top before another fired gunshot stopped her in her tracks. Sharon Raydor gasped for the air that had just been sucked out of her lungs.

Catching her breath, she climbed the last few stairs and went in search of the shots. She had to find Brenda Leigh whether the outcome was good or bad. She hoped like hell it wasn't bad.

Only one door was open and she could see movement inside. As she rounded the doorway she saw a burly bald guy standing over the bed. Her eyes dropped to the tiny figure in the middle of that bed. She'd never seen Brenda look so small and vulnerable.

As the man loomed again, Sharon heard herself yell, "Stop!"

The man was startled and jerked his gun around and aimed at the doorway and right at Sharon's forehead.

Before he could get a shot off, Brenda pushed his arm away with the one free hand he had just untied. "NO!" Sharon spun back into the hall as the bullet splintered the door frame above where her head had been. "Henry, she's my…friend." Breathlessly, Brenda informed Henry.

Henry untied the rest of the bindings that held Brenda Leigh down as Sharon cautiously stepped back into the room. It was only then that she noticed the two lifeless figures crumpled on the floor. But it wasn't them she was concerned with. Only one thing concerned her and she was huddled, naked on the bed.

Sharon rushed to Brenda's side, taking off her coat and wrapping it around a shivering Brenda. Putting her arms around her, she held Brenda close and tight. Under any other circumstances this could be considered something else but right now it was a friend comforting another friend in their time of need.

Neither of them said a word. They didn't have to.

And if Brenda Leigh needed someone it was now.

Henry covered the bodies of Philip Stroh and G. R. Hawthorne with sheets and went downstairs to wait for the authorities.

Brenda laid her head over on Sharon's shoulder. Finally, after all the years of being the strong one, the fearless one, Brenda let down her guard and allowed someone to comfort her.

To hold her.

To let her cry.

To let her feel.