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support him, yes, but he’s not in the inner circle. He doesn’t know about this, honestly.’ Aaron’s voice cracked. ‘I would have told him, but
he’s on a plane right now, flying back from Singapore. He’s been in the air with his phone switched off since it happened.’
    I said nothing. Everything Aaron said sounded convincing, but then if Riley had prepped him, that’s exactly what I’d expect.
    ‘Nat?’
    ‘So why are you calling me?’ I asked.
    ‘Because my dad’s not around, my mum would freak if I told her, and we can’t trust the police – which means you and I have to go and rescue her.’ He paused.
‘Just tell me where you are and I’ll come and find you. I’ve taken money from my mum’s account so I’m minted. I can pick you up, wherever you are.’
    I stiffened. Was this all a trap to trick me into revealing my whereabouts? ‘Why should I trust you about anything?’ I snapped. ‘You didn’t tell anyone Charlie and I
rescued you, you let everyone think we are terrorists.’
    ‘I know.’ Aaron blew out his breath. ‘I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m telling you the truth. Jas is gone and I was told to cover up her being missing as
long as I could, that if I let anyone know she was kidnapped, they’d kill her.’
    I leaned my head on the ticket office window. The glass was cool against my skin. ‘Why would Riley tell
you
about kidnapping my
sister
? Why not our parents?’ On the
other side of the window, the bus to London was loading up with passengers.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Aaron said. ‘But . . . but Jas and I have been seeing a lot of each other.’
    I frowned. Charlie had told me that she’d seen Aaron and Jas together at his party last month, but it hadn’t occurred to me Aaron might have contacted her since. Jas certainly
hadn’t mentioned it on the few occasions I had talked to her.
    ‘ “Seen a lot of her” how?’ I demanded. ‘Are you saying you’re her boyfriend?’
    There was a pause. ‘Er . . . yes.’
    Again, I had no idea whether or not to believe him.
    ‘Look, your sister and I . . .’ Aaron stammered. ‘I know Jas hasn’t said anything yet, but it’s okay. I think she’s amazing. Totally cool.’
    ‘Too cool for you,’ I muttered.
    ‘Please, Nat.’ Aaron hesitated. ‘I understand why you might think I’m lying to you. But I’ve realised since I . . . since Riley took me . . . that things
aren’t what they seem. My dad’s filled me in about a lot of things.’
    In the background, the tannoy announced that the next bus to London was about to depart. Outside, the last few passengers were getting on board.
    ‘What about
my
dad,
my
parents?’ I said. ‘Surely they’d have noticed if Jas wasn’t at home?’ As I said the words, I knew it was, in fact,
entirely likely that Mum and Dad would have been far too busy to notice if Jas went missing – at least for a few hours. I ground my teeth, a new fury building inside me – this time, at
my parents.
    ‘Yeah, right.’ Aaron snorted. ‘One of the reasons Jas spends so much time with
my
family is because her own is never around.’
    Guilt stabbed me like a knife. It wasn’t just Mum and Dad. I wasn’t around for Jas, either.
    ‘Anyway,’ Aaron went on, ‘if your parents think about it at all, they’ll probably just assume she’s with me, staying over.’
    ‘She
stays over
?’
    ‘Look, Nat, I know this is a lot to take in, but we don’t have much time. The guy who phoned me said Riley would release Jas so long as I didn’t tell anyone she’d been
taken, but I can’t see he’ll have any reason to keep her alive.’
    Outside on the concourse, all the passengers were on board the London bus now, the driver just checking over the last pieces of luggage. I clenched my fists, torn between the small part of me
that believed Aaron and the larger part that refused to.
    ‘I don’t trust you,’ I hissed. ‘I think you stole my number and now you’re trying to