Luca and I split up, taking opposite sides of the mall to hopefully fall into place with each other at the same exact time to stop the 'target'.

Ugh. Target. It sounded fucking stupid when it came from me, but Luca had such a way with words that anything sounded good.

I made sure to look as non suspicious as possible, but being as this was my first stalking through the Staten Island mall, I was sure that I looked like an idiot. I made conscious movements trying to pretend they were unconscious - peeking inside stores real quick, pretending to be on my phone and answering a test. To my left, Luca simply stalked - a lion getting ready to pounce on his prey. He made everything look so fucking elegant.

All of the sudden the woman stopped, causing me to duck behind a vendor cart. Another woman who looked to be the same age with caramel colored hair stopped next to her, placing a kiss on her cheek. They engaged in conversation immediately.

Just before I had a chance to move from my vendor cart position, my phone went off. Luca of course, never Mystic Messenger with another chat room when I'm ready...

I rolled my eyes and tried to get closer to them, feigning interest in the menu to the restaurant that was inches away from their meeting spot.

"Ugh, nachos for 8 bucks? Ridiculous..." I peeked out the corner of my eye, the two woman in deep conversation.

"We're gone now. They won't be able to find us." The main interest spoke, a sigh of relief flowing out.

"So who's taking care of CJ?" The other asked, raising her eyebrow. CJ?

"My sister for now. I'll get him back in a few and we'll figure it out from there."

My phone went off, the notification for Mystic Messenger blaring. Of all fucking times...

The two woman suddenly turned to look at me, and I gave them a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Stupid app. I'm debating if I wanna spend the 8 fucking dollars on nachos - crazy fuckin' price, right? Heh..."

Both of their eyes went narrow but continued their conversation in whispers. Fuck.

I placed my finger on the menu for full effect, scrunching my face in concentration to show the ladies I had no care in the world for whatever they were doing. Though their gazes eventually fell from me, they still spoke in barely audible whispers. The only shot I had to end my 'contract' with Luca was to figure out whatever was going on between them, and I would not fail.

I side stepped, slowly turning my head to make sure I wasn't causing any further suspicions. After what seemed like hours, I finally made it to where I could make out some of their words.

"Hammerstein ballroom....9 PM...."

"The 19th..."

"Formal.."

The Hammerstein? I'd gone to the ballroom once when they turned it into a ring for a boxing event....

The sound of lips on cheek filled the air, and shortly after that was the sound of high heels clicking on tile. Before I had a chance to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in, Luca came to my side. "What the fuck happened?"

"Mystic Messenger went off in my pocket and you weren't there so I had to pretend I was upset about 8 dollar nachos, but really I'm more upset that I might've missed a chatroom on the game -"

"Holy fuck, Chaya," Luca interrupted, his voice thick with annoyance. "What did they say?"

I rolled my eyes. "Someone named CJ is with the blonde's sister, and there's a formal at the Hammerstein on the 19th at I think like, 8:30 or 9 PM."

"We have to get into that party," he replied. "It'll be no problem for me to get us in there, and from that point -"

This time, it was me cutting him off. "Luca, you stand out no matter where you go. You can't expect to get anything accomplished walking in a formal with a suit and tie." All eyes would be on him automatically; he would steal the show and leave no survivors, myself included. "If you're going to send me in there, I need to be with Giuseppe." Not that Giuseppe wasn't attractive, but he wasn't able to steal the show like Luca. Not to mention, he wasn't the head of...whatever the fuck it was Luca was the head of.

Luca made a sound of annoyance; a laugh with no humor. "You fucking obsessed with him, or?"

"Or," I sneered, "I just want to get this the fuck over with so I can go back to living my life freely. If you attended the formal or whatever the fuck it is, you'd be spotted by that lady you're stalking as soon as you walked in. Giuseppe isn't as..." I struggled to find the correct words. I needed to get my point across without complimenting Luca. "He doesn't demand authority or attention as much as you."

Luca smiled, the trouble with my wording pleasing him. "Is that all it is, Chaya?"

I nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation. "That's all I heard."

Luca began furiously typing on his phone, signaling our conversation was done and he had no desire for speaking. I didn't mind, as of lately I had almost permanently attached my foot to my mouth.

We exited the mall, and just as I tried to lay my head down on the window for a nap, Luca finally spoke. "You'll go with Giuseppe, but I'll wait outside the entire time."

"Okay."

"You'll be debriefed on everything. I promise not to send you into the slaughter."

"Okay."

"It won't be dangerous. I just need some more recon done. In the meantime, we'll get the message decoded and move from there."

I finally picked my head up, my voice thick with annoyance. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Try not to fuck Giuseppe at the formal."