Lilah’s eyes widened for the span of two slow blinks, her nostrils flaring as she took a deep breath.  It was important to maintain control.  Bad things tended to happen when she couldn’t.  Doing so in a room still pulsing with adrenaline and testosterone would send the evening careening further off the rails.  Her lips tightened then relaxed as she brought the cigarette up.<br/><br/>Rishon’s attention shifted to Mica.  Lilah’s eyes followed suit.  Silently smoking her cigarette, she took in the exchange between the two men.  It quickly bored her so she turned her focus back to the tattooed man.  He was far more interested in the conversation taking place at the table.  A bodyguard to the man with the gun, perhaps?  An idea that was quickly discarded.  Something else then.<br/><br/>Thoughts were beginning to take shape in the back of her head when Mica addressed her.  Her eyebrow twitched upward as their eyes met.  The twitch traveled to her mouth, sending it turning down into a frown for a heartbeat.<i>With</i>Shailen?  In the most technical definition of the word, yes, she did work with him but something about the way Mica paired that phrase with the idea that she was an asset to the Family just rubbed her the wrong way.  Shailen was involved in something she knew nothing about and now his carelessness had her involved in something she knew nothing about.<br/><br/>She watched Mica stand, a bland expression on her face as he crossed the small room and came to stand next to his brother.  They shifted naturally, moving and adjusting until they were positioned perfectly side-by-side in the subtle way that made it quite clear they’d been doing this delicate dance for a very long time.<br/><br/>“Something tells me this isn’t the sort of invitation I get a chance to turn down,” she replied matter-of-factly as she turned to extinguish her cigarette in the ashtray Giovanni had thoughtfully provided.  He was a good man and she liked him very much.<br/><br/>Giovanni looked up from the glass he was carefully polishing, offered her a polite half-smile and nod of acknowledgment.<br/><br/>Her smile mirrored his.  “I’ll see you next week, sweetheart.”<br/><br/>Without further ado, she stepped carefully over some of the bills scattered on the floor that Bill’s friend had neglected to grab and headed for the door.  Normally, she would have paused, lingering long enough that one of them could have stepped in front of her and held the door but not tonight.  Tonight she didn’t want to linger in this place any longer.<br/><br/>They stepped outside, Lilah in the front with the brothers just behind.  Her shoulders drew inward and upward as goosebumps blossomed across the bare skin of her back.  She paused, ready to ask over her shoulder how they would be getting to the nice place nearby where they’d be getting a drink.  Movement out of the corner of her eye shifted her attention.<br/><br/>Half a block down, on the other side of the street, a sleek black compact limousine pulled into the road and made its way toward them.   The car was dead silent as it pulled up to the curb, absolutely no sound of an idling engine disrupting the quiet night air.  This time she did glance over her shoulder at the brothers.  “Impressive.”<br/><br/>Mica moved around her from the right, Rishon from the left.  Mica opened the door but Rishon waited a beat before speaking.  “Lady’s choice.”<br/><br/>The interior lights illuminated to what he was referring - did she want to sit in the forward-facing seats or the rear-facing ones?  To Lilah, the choice was an obvious one.  Turning around, she lowered herself down onto the seat, keeping her knees tightly together as she turned to bring her legs inside the car.  Carefully, she slid into the middle of the leather bench then crossed her ankles, still keeping her knees pressed together as she angled her legs.<br/><br/>“I hope I didn’t take your seats.  Riding backward just makes me feel quite carsick,” she explained with a smile as she set her purse on the seat near her thigh.  “How long is the ride?”