Page 91 of Spin Control

Elio nods. “Elizabeth’s sister, right?”

Fuck.

“I’m going to answer it and put it on speaker,” he says.

I swallow hard. How the hell am I supposed to do this?

Elio shows me the screen of my phone so I can see that he’s answered. I guess it’s showtime.

“Jane!” I say, hoping my voice sounds normal rather than manic. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hi, Wes,” she says, sounding nervous. “I hope it’s okay that I’m calling you out of the blue.”

“Of course!”

“I’m sure you know that Lizzy and I—”

“Yes,” I say, interrupting before she can fill Elio in on how they’re currently estranged. “I know.”

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of her, but her phone seems to be off,” Jane says. “That’s not normal.”

Shit. I’m going to have to lie to Jane. I force myself to laugh. “Yeah, Elizabeth flew to Monaco yesterday and left her phone on the plane. I’m sure it’s long gone. Whoever found it must have immediately turned it off.”

“Wait,” Jane says. “She’s in Monaco? In her message the other day she said she was staying in New York for a while—”

“Things changed!” I say quickly. I don’t want Elio to hang up on Jane. I can’t lose this chance. “You know how Elizabeth is—always able to get Clint on her side.”

“Right,” Jane says. “Can I talk to her?”

“She’s in the shower,” I say, maybe a little too quickly. But a Hail Mary of an idea has floated to the front of my mind. “By the way, Elizabeth mentioned her friend Lydia. You grew up with her, too, right?”

“Lydia,” Jane repeats, and I hope she understands that I’m actually referencing the youngest sister from Pride & Prejudice. “That rings a bell.”

I have never been more grateful for my mother’s insistence I know all things Austen than I am right now. “She said Lydia and George are big F1 fans, and I wanted their address so I could send them something. But I’m not sure how to find it.”

Elio shoots me a quizzical look, and I give him a cheeky grin before shrugging in a way that I hope communicates ‘This is all very innocent and not at all me telling Jane in a very vague and roundabout way that you’ve kidnapped Elizabeth and Stas.’

Not that Lydia Bennet and George Wickham were kidnapped. But they did disappear together, and Wickham was Mr. Darcy’s friend at one point. I’m really hoping Jane can read between the lines.

“Got it,” Jane says. I want to throw my hands up in the air, the way I do when I get out of the car to celebrate a win. “I’ll track that down for you.”

“Amazing,” I say. “So, what else is going on with you? How’s the family?”

Just then, a loud clatter comes through the speaker, followed by the sound of a child screaming.

“I’m so sorry, Wes, I have to go,” Jane says.

“Mom duty calls.”

“As ever. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Take care, Jane.”

Elio takes the phone back and I brace myself for whatever is about to happen. The worst, probably.

So when he says, “Only you would think about sending merch to a fan in the midst of a situation like this,” it takes everything in me to refrain from jumping up in victory.

The next afternoon, I land at Druvia’s airport with my passport, a suitcase, a wallet full of cash, and an envelope.