It didn’t take Eliza and Ares long to locate Mae when they returned to Mars. She didn’t seem too concerned about her missing fiancé when they spotted her at a coffee shop with a good-looking stranger. It didn’t surprise Eliza. Ares pressing her against a wall and staring her down did, however.

“What the hell are you doing?” she growled, peeking over his shoulder in an attempt to see Mae.

He put a finger to his lips and stepped so close to Eliza that she was forced to look at the faded logo on his t-shirt. To make matters worse, he put his hands on her waist instead of the wall by her head.

Mae’s overly pretty laugh sounded behind Ares and drifted away. As soon as the clicks of her heels were a great distance away, Ares stepped back and let Eliza go. She straightened her jacket and refused to look at her partner. Her face felt warmer than she remembered.

“She started to look over and we’re trying to follow her, not get caught by her,” Ares explained. “I’m positive she felt your glare burning a hole in her back.”

“Why do we have to follow her? We could easily capture her and take her to your brother. We’d be done with her. Or I could finally end her life.”

“We need more information on the Scorpions. There is a reason why Terrance and Mae are supposedly getting married. She’s going to know something. Terrance won’t tell us anything and we can’t go up to anyone and question them. She’s not going to get away from us.”

“Okay, fine, but isn’t she getting away right now?”

Ares smirked, “While you were staring, I heard about another party she’s hosting this weekend. The man she was with is one of Ezra’s guys and he said that Ezra would be making an appearance at said party. That’s where we’re going to get our information. After that, Mae is all yours.”

“So, we need disguises?”

He nodded.

The corner of Eliza’s mouth turned up as she crossed her arms over her chest, “I guess we need to start planning then.”

“But first, we need to buy some things.”

“Lead the way.”

Back at the apartment, the hunters tested their disguises on each other. When they walked out of their respective rooms, they stared at each other in pride.

Eliza found a curly peach wig that hovered above her shoulders. She also put brown colored contacts in and put on dramatic make-up to attempt changing the shape of her eyes. The outfit she picked out layered with different fabrics and colors. Her skinny jeans were black with the knees ripped up. She had a long pink and purple plaid button-up under a regular white t-shirt, and a cropped black leather jacket. She felt like she belonged at a heavy metal concert. The fake nose piercing and several bracelets didn't help.

Her partner had a short black wig on, fake stubble, and blue-colored contacts. The wig gave him messy bangs that flopped over his forehead and gave him a charming unkempt look. He wore boot-cut blue jeans and an old Five Finger Death Punch graphic t-shirt. Over that, he had a gray zipper jacket. He didn’t have any accessories like her, but he still looked so different.

“Nice beard,” she smirked.

“This is only for the test. My facial hair will be this long, if not longer, by the weekend,” he explained, carefully removing it from his face. “That was uncomfortable.”

Eliza took her wig off, “What’ll be our story if we're questioned?”

“We shouldn’t be. There was no mention of a restriction for guests, but if we are, we will be a couple who wanted a good finish to the night. There’s an Atmospheric Mars concert going on the same night, so we’ll be coming back from that.”

“That explains the theme but is it necessary to be a couple?”

“My guess is there will be rooms specifically for couples, much like the last party she threw. If that’s the case, we’ll need to get into one to get closer to Mae. My guess is she’ll prey on several men with Teel absent.”

“You don’t think she’ll go for you again?”

He chuckled, “Thankfully, that won’t happen because we’ll be together. She didn’t seem to show interest in any men who had a woman with him already. If you had been near me in the last place, she would have found someone else.”

“Not if she recognized me.”

“That’s not the point here. She’s not going to look our way.”

“But do we have to be a couple? There has to be another way.”

“Afraid we’ll have to act like it?”

Eliza rolled her eyes, “We’ll be compromised.”

“Maybe.” Ares pointed at her. “You’re a pretty good actor.”

She turned away and started pulling off some of her accessories. He wasn’t wrong but she knew she couldn’t act like his girlfriend. There was something going on inside her mind when it came to her partner and she had a sinking feeling about it. It was the exact reason she worked alone before. She never wanted to feel what she felt with Luke again, yet an inkling of those same feelings surfaced toward Ares. He had to know, too. It was the only reason he kept staring at her.

“What’s going on up there?” Ares tapped her head, making her jump. She didn’t notice him walking up to her.

“I don’t want to do this but if you think it’s going to help, then I’ll go with it,” Eliza said. “If it goes to shit, it’s on you.”

“I guarantee it’ll work. If it doesn’t, I owe you whatever you want. No questions asked.”

“I assume you want something in return if your plan works.”

He shook his head, “Nah. You’ll reject anything I suggest anyway, so why bother?”

“I might not this time, depending on the suggestion.” Eliza swayed while staring him down. “If you’re making a bet, then give yourself a reward.”

“All right. If my plan works, then...” he paused to think about it for a moment, “then I want you to accept whatever keeps muddling your thoughts. It’s weighing heavy on you and I want you to do something about it, okay?”

She pondered it. Yeah, he knew. Or maybe he didn’t and wanted her to be okay. As long as they make it through the evening without having to prove their relationship, she’d be good. “Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll come up with a specific thing for when I win.”

“In your dreams, Lizzy.”

Eliza punched his arm, winked, and disappeared into her room to get into her regular clothes. He was probably right, but she was holding out for a miracle.