Turn Back Time (The Full Circle Series Book 1) Read online

  “Thank you for the offer, Julia, but I don’t think it’s necessary,” Naomi said.

  “We’ll be fine, but thanks,” Stella added.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about you,” Julia said. “But I can’t spend one more minute in the company of he who shall remain nameless.” She looked over her shoulder at Harry, who sauntered toward the restaurant.

  “Jules, what the hell’s that supposed to mean?” He looked even more disheveled than he did on Monday morning, when they all met.

  “Stop calling me Jules or JuJu. In fact, don’t talk to me at all,” she hissed.

  “What’s your problem?” he shrugged.

  “Stop playing dumb. Do you really want me to say it again? Fine!” Julia pointed a finger at him. “When you tried to stop me from going into my room last night and groped me, you crossed a line. I don’t want you anywhere near me. Not your hands, not your face, nothing. And I’m telling you one thing right now. Emily won’t like it either when she hears about it.”

  “What’s Em got to do with it?” He scratched his belly.

  “Yup, just what I thought.” But she wasn’t done yet. “By the way, I doubt Emily asked you to go on this trip. I have a feeling you told her to stay at home because you wanted to go. Even though I don’t know why. I hope you didn’t think you could start something with me.”

  “Come on, don’t be such a Miss Prim. I may’ve had one drink too many last night, but I was lonely and thought you’d enjoy some male company. If Em hears your little sob story, she’ll prattle on about a divorce again.”

  “And I hope she’ll go through with it this time. I can guarantee you I’m not going to try to talk her out of it. You’re despicable,” Julia spat. She stepped closer to Stella and Naomi and said much more calmly, “I’d like to get on the train with you, and maybe I can even be of help in Paris.”

  “What do you mean?” Stella asked.

  “I have connections to the American Embassy. It can be difficult to get through to the right people. Especially given the delicacy of this matter.”

  “Why should they tell an accountant what’s going on?” Harry asked while he heaped toast, scrambled eggs and a few sausages on his plate. With his fingers, he snagged a chunk of cantaloupe directly out of a bowl and popped it in his mouth.

  Caroline signaled a waitress to take away the fruit bowl.

  “I am not an accountant,” Julia said through her teeth, emphasizing each word, “and you know it.”

  “Well, you do Emily’s taxes.” He bit into one of the sausages and looked around for support. His face fell. “What, do you all believe her over me?”

  “I’ll only say you’re lucky none of us guys saw what Julia just described,” Andrew slammed his hand on the table and pushed his chair back. Sarah put her hand on his arm.

  “A few of us women might also have figured out ways to step in,” Lynn said. She waved a travel-size can of hairspray in Harry’s direction. “Works almost as well as pepper spray, which is what I carry at home, but I was afraid it would be confiscated at the airport.”

  Oh, my goodness, this would be funny if it weren’t so serious, Stella thought. Go, Lynn!

  “Look, Harry, I know you think you’re God’s greatest gift to women and expect us to worship at your feet. But…not happening,” Julia looked at Caroline, then at the group. “I apologize for this scene. It’s unacceptable for you to have to witness this exchange. I was confronted with Emily’s change in travel plans when it was too late to drop out. I tried to make the best of it, but after last night I can’t relax and enjoy the last two days. I’m going back to Paris. Again... sorry!”

  “Don’t you dare apologize to any of us, Julia,” Steve said. “We’re sad you’re leaving. I wish we’d known about all this and been able to help keep the situation from escalating. But we understand your decision.”

  “Thanks, Steve,” Julia said.

  “What are your connections to the Embassy, Julia?” Naomi asked.

  “Well, I’m a tax attorney and work for the Department of Treasury. I know people here in Paris, and will do whatever I can to get information about your friend. I don’t know how much I can help, but at least I can try.”

  Naomi stood up to hug Julia. “Thank you so much!”

  “I think it’s settled, then,” Caroline said. “Let’s meet at the bus in fifteen minutes, and we’re off to Rennes.”

  Getting on the bus, Caroline told Harry, “I suggest you sit with me in the front.”

  “Oh, it’s fine, I don’t mind mingling.”

  “This is not a discussion, Harry. Sit here, please.” Caroline pointed to the seat behind François.

  Bless her! Stella was impressed with how Caroline put him in time-out like an unruly child.

  When the bus pulled out onto the street, Stella looked at Mont Saint-Michel one more time, vowing to return.

  Julia, who sat across the narrow aisle from Stella and Naomi, asked, “Where are you staying in Paris?”

  “At a hotel in Montparnasse,” Naomi said. “I’ll call them as soon as we’re on the train to ask if they have something for us. What are your plans?”

  “I have reservations at a hotel in Versailles. But if you don’t mind, would you ask your hotel if they have a room for me until Saturday? It would help make things easier if we’re staying together.”

  “No problem. It’s the least I can do!”

  “But we don’t want you to give up your plans to visit Versailles,” Stella said. “You must’ve looked forward to it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been there before. This is more important.” Julia opened an app on her phone and chuckled. “Let’s get to work, girls. I’m the queen of to-do lists. Thank goodness for the Notes app.”

  Stella stared at the phone in her hand. “I have to call David. It’s been over an hour since he texted me while we talked to Luca.”

  “Quite frankly, I don’t care what he wants,” Naomi said. “I’m worried about Revan right now. Period.”

  Then she looked out the window for a moment, and said, “Sorry, I’m acting like an ass and it’s not fair to you. If you feel you need to call him back, do it.” Naomi reached for her hand and squeezed it.

  “I really do. He must have a good reason if he wants me to call him. What if something happened to him, too?”

  She pulled up his contact and looked at the image she had assigned to it.

  For more than a year she’d been wanting to call him, or write back to him, asking for an explanation. But she was hurting so much, she’d preferred to live in a cocoon and have no connection to anything related to David—not even his sister, who had tried to stay in touch.

  Never in a million years did she imagine they’d meet again under such bizarre circumstances. Yet here they were…

  She typed a message.

  I got your message. Can I call you later? Stella

  Within seconds, her phone rang. She had no choice. She needed to pick up. Her hands shook when she touched the green button.

  CHAPTER 23

  David—July 2018

  D

  avid stood in front of the open window of his hotel room. He tuned out the noises on the streets below him and focused on the trees in the park. He didn’t care about the climate-controlled air escaping into the summer heat. Since he left Stella the message to call him an hour ago, he debated how to tell her what he’d seen on the morning news.

  David clutched his phone and waited for her to accept his call. It only rang a few times before she said, “David?”

  Hearing her voice caused a sensation in him he could only describe as free-fall. Like a roller-coaster going over the highest point and barreling toward the bottom at the speed of light. The heart-in-your-throat, adrenaline-rushing-through-your-veins experience.

  His mouth was dry.

  “David?” she asked again. Her voice was quiet, and she sounded defeated. No, not defeated. Scared.

&
nbsp; Two pigeons flew up and perched on the small ledge outside his window. Their cooing irritated him, and he shut the window.

  “Hi, Stella…umm…where…what…” He leaned his forehead against the glass. Focus, Danvers!

  “Stop it, David.” Her voice sounded stronger, and he grinned. There she is! Coming out of her shell.

  “Let me try again,” he managed a strangled laugh. “I’m so glad to hear your voice. Where are you?”

  “On my way to Rennes. Why? What’s going on?”

  “Have you been following the news?”

  “A little…I assume you’re talking about the hostage situation?”

  “Yes. I don’t know how to tell you... Revan is involved.” He held his breath. “I didn’t want to believe it, but they showed photos of him and the women.”

  “What, in the catacombs?”

  “No. The women’s pictures looked like their work IDs, and Revan’s must’ve been from a media kit. I texted you as soon as I saw it. I didn’t want you to hear it on the news.”

  “Luca called us at the same moment you texted. But we didn’t know they announced Rev’s identity.” David heard Naomi’s voice in the background. Stella made an affirmative sound to Naomi, then said to him, “Naomi and I are on our way back to Paris.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t know yet what we’ll do, or what we even can do. We haven’t had time to digest any of this.” He noticed how she emphasized the word can. “We should be in Paris in about three hours. One of the women in our group has connections to the American Embassy, and she’s trying to help us get in touch with someone there, but who knows how much they’ll tell us.”

  “Call me when you’re at your hotel. I’m not going anywhere until I talk to you again,” he said, then added, “Please, let me help you.”

  “Okay, I’ll be in touch later.”

  “Promise me!” David said.

  “Yes, I promise I’ll be in touch this afternoon. I’ve got to go, David. The connection is breaking up.”

  “Until later, bye, Stella.”

  David tossed the phone on his bed. He had no clue what he could do, but he knew he’d do his best to support Stella and Naomi while they waited for news and Revan’s rescue.

  He needed to be ready and have his wits about him when they arrived, which wasn’t for another few hours. He couldn’t sit here, he had to move. Maybe he should go for a walk.

  Without paying attention to where he was going, he let his feet take him away. When he reached a busy intersection, David wasn’t surprised to find himself in front of the Opera House. Talk about coming full circle… No, the circle would only be closed if he were here with Stella.

  Instead of going inside, as he had for the past three days, he sat on the steps and looked down the straight avenue leading back to his hotel.

  His conversation with Jerome two days ago came to mind. David apologized and told him the naked truth before they began the auditions. “As soon as we entered the box, I saw someone…very special to me in the auditorium.”

  “What is so special about her?”

  “She’s my Christine,” David admitted, keeping it simple but to the point. “And I renounced her last year.”

  “Sounds like the stuff opera is made of. Were you able to talk to her?” Jerome asked.

  “She was gone before I could get there,” David said and—to his embarrassment—had to swallow back tears.

  “Then you better make sure you catch her next time,” was Jerome’s advice before he handed him a sheet of music, “Now, let’s hear you sing.”

  And while David sang “The Anthem” from Chess, his thoughts strayed to Stella. Ask me why I love her…

  Somehow, he nailed his auditions. One day he’d be able to laugh about the list of songs Jerome chose for his impromptus. If David didn’t know better, he’d suspect Aaron had a hand in the selection.

  He strolled back to his hotel, but couldn’t stand the thought of being cooped up in his room. Instead, he crossed the street and sat in the park again, his hand on his cell phone in case Stella called. The rumbling of heavy equipment at a nearby construction area, and people shouting out to each other, made it almost impossible to hear his phone, but he’d feel it vibrate.

  He checked the time again. Only an hour had passed since he talked to her. In a few hours, he would get to see Stella again. Because he knew, after hearing her voice, it wouldn’t be enough to simply talk to her on the phone.

  He needed to see her in person.

  And he wanted to hold her again.

  Would she let him?

  CHAPTER 24

  Stella—July 2018

  A

  fter hasty goodbyes to their group, Stella, Naomi, and Julia sat in the dining car of the luxurious modern train and perused the menu.

  “This is impressive for a train restaurant,” Naomi said. “In fact, the entire atmosphere is more country club than mass transportation. Buying the tickets and jumping on the next available train is no different than hopping on the subway in any American city. I have to mention it in the package I put together for European vacations. A lot of our customers will love this.”

  “Yes, traveling by train is very popular in Europe,” Julia said. “I use them all the time when I’m here. And if you don’t mind spending a few extra euros for first class, you get excellent service.”

  When a waitress stopped at their table, all three women ordered a salade niçoise. “And a bottle of Blanc de Noirs, please,” Julia added.

  “A black white wine?” Stella wondered.

  “No, but close. It’s a sparkling wine, like champagne, made from black-skinned grapes and goes nicely with the salad.”

  “Are you sure we should drink alcohol, considering what’s waiting for us in Paris?” Stella asked. “We have to stay alert.”

  “Three women sharing one bottle of wine is no more than two glasses for each, and we’ll have a hearty meal with it. All the protein in the salad and the carbs from the baguette will soak up the alcohol,” Julia raised her water glass. “Santé.”

  “I’ll call the hotel now to see what I can arrange for rooms,” Naomi said.

  “And I’ll text my contact at the Embassy,” said Julia.

  Stella asked, “What can I do?”

  “Call your brother. See if we can get written permission from Revan’s parents to talk to people at the Embassy. I know he’s a grown man of legal age, but it can’t hurt to have something to wave in front of the bureaucrats.”

  “Should they fax it directly to the Embassy?”

  “No, have them email it to you and copy me. We don’t want it to get lost in the shuffle at the offices. And we don’t know who we’ll end up talking to.”

  “Got it!” Stella said and texted Luca,

  On the train now. Julia says it would be helpful to have a written consent from Rev’s parents saying we can speak to an officer at the Embassy on their behalf. Email it to me and copy Julia. I’ll send you her contact details.

  Luca’s reply came within seconds,

  Of course, I should’ve thought of it myself. Will tell Robert ASAP. Alicia’s on her way to pick up Dinah. They’re holding up okay.

  Thanks. I’ll let you know when we’re at the hotel. Naomi’s on the phone to arrange rooms. Love you.

  “Luca’s on it,” she said after closing the message window.

  “What does he do for a living?” Julia asked.

  “He’s a news director for Bloomberg in their New York City office.”

  “Ah, good to know. Maybe we’ll need to tap into his pool of media contacts.”

  “Ladies, we’re all set at the hotel.” Naomi put her phone down and took a swig of her freshly poured bubbly. “Yum! I needed some fortification.” She took a photo of the bottle’s label. “This one’s going on my list of favorites.”

  “Did you get a room for Julia
?” Stella asked.

  “Yes and no. We’ll have to share a room for one night.”

  “Fine with me, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Julia said.

  “Not necessary,” Naomi grinned. “For tonight, all they have available is a family room with three twin beds. We can discuss everything else when we get there.”

  “Great, thank you. My news is, we won’t be able to speak with an officer in the American Citizen Services office today, but my friend in the IRS office said he can meet us after work. Alexander is trying to get an overview of what our options are, but he says there’s likely not much they can do to help us since the hostage situation is still ongoing.”

  “I’d like to meet with him. Anything’s better than twiddling our thumbs in the hotel room,” Naomi said. “When and where?”

  “He suggested we meet in front of the Embassy at five.”

  “Tell him we’ll be there,” Naomi said, then nodded to the approaching waitress. “Now let’s eat. I see three salads coming our way...”

  “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about Revan? It might help if I have an idea of who he is,” Julia asked.

  Naomi looked at Stella. “How can we best describe Revan in a few words?”

  “Oh, boy. He’s one of those people you have to meet in person to get the full picture.”

  “What does he do for work?” Julia asked. “How old is he? Girlfriend, wife? Hobbies?”

  “He is thirty-five, the best friend of Stella’s brother, and his work is his hobby, or vice versa. Revan works as a documentary photographer, but he’s also doing freelance photography. He goes to politically unstable countries and war zones with a news team, and then combines the assignment with a private side trip to some other hot spot. Heaven knows how he comes up with all his destinations.”

  “Sounds as if he’s looking for adrenaline kicks?” Julia asked and picked up a chunk of tuna with her fork.

  “You can say that again! And it’s why he doesn’t do relationships. He says it’s not fair to a woman to live in constant worry over whether he’s coming back alive or in a wooden box,” Stella added with a side glance at Naomi.