“Sorry,” Mindy said.

“Don't be mad at them," Jane said, trying to look petulant. “You're so overprotective that it's obnoxious. You shouldn't...".

"I should," Red interrupted, giving Jane another kiss. “And I will, so don't bother telling me to stop." Then she whispered into Jane's ear, "I promised that I'd never let anything happen to you, remember?"

Jane grinned shyly. Red made her feel safer than she could ever have imagined, even when she wasn't around. The red-haired warrior had helped put the Strays back together, including bringing back old members as well as training the few mew ones. She was one of the Strays who refused to take a second job. She protected those that needed it, and she'd never do anything else.

"ANYWAY," Anya said, unhappy that her story had been interrupted.

“When I got back to town, I gave Red here a call. She and Croc had been fighting some new . . . what?"

"It was a Falloc Shadow. Don't ask," she told Jane. "They're just creepy."

“Anyway, Croc had to split so I told the honey here that we'd pick her up in the limo, drop off my agent and then the car would drop us off here."

Red actually looked uncomfortable. "Anya, do we really need a ..."

Anya placed a finger on Red's lips. "Yes, we do. Well, as SOON as the door opens and my agent sees Red here, he had dollar signs in his eyes and a hard-on in his pants! He was offering her all sorts of modeling work .

"Cool!" Jane said. She looked at Red. "Are you going to ..."

"No."

"But..."

"No."

"Would it..."

"No."

Jane gave up, and let Anya finish the story.

"I mean, WE all know how hot Red is. That curly red hair, the white lock, the killer bod in tight leather . . . hell, even the eye patch is sexy on her."

"I'm going inside to get a drink," Red muttered, but Jane grabbed her hand and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I'll get you one in a minute. At LEAST tell me that you refused politely and . . ." Jane noticed Red's expression shift. “You weren't polite, were you?"

Anya had to talk between sudden bursts of laughter. "She pinned him to the side of the car and started to growl at him. Said if he didn't shut up, she'd rip his stomach out through his colon. He he said . . . (chuckle) . . . that the bad-ass bitch thing worked for her! Said they could make millions!"

"I've never threatened a masochist before," Red muttered.

Jane was smiling. "You could you know . . . model. You're beautiful..."

"It's mot me," Red replied, wrapping Jane up in her arms. “That's not my world. This is."