The Stopover Novels & Stories

“When do you think we’ll know?” Blake stopped walking when we reached the promenade. Clearly, he wanted to wrap up our conversation before we got back to the hotel. It was looming just ahead of us, filled with people who had no idea of the secret that would weigh me down until I knew once and for all whether their livelihoods would be safe.

He used his connections to send me here. Suddenly, my phone rings. “Excuse me for a moment,” I said. “Hello?” I said as I answered the phone. “Sophie, I will be having a business trip for 5 months in Rome. Uhm, I contacted your university to book you a room in a dorm. Will you be fine with it?” he asks. Eh? A dorm? Is he serious? “Huh? Why? I mean, I can ask our driver to send me to school,” I said. I have a driver, why would he find a dorm for me?

That familiar scent - citrusy and fresh, sent signals to her brain that made her smile and brought peace even for just a while. Still far from their intended destination, the bus stopped. Herbie thought that it was the usual stop over. The bus had stopped several times for restroom breaks and for snacks but this time, it was because of some machine trouble, the bus conductor announced. “Sir, Ma’am, we have already radioed the office and they are sending a back-up bus but it will probably take hours before it gets here so, you have two choices, you can stay here inside the bus while we wait or you can stay in at Queen Elizabeth Inn about three kilometers from here. The fee, however, if you st

“I know. I can’t believe it either. I’m so sorry. But I have the names they used and copies of the fake passports. I’ll email them to you right now.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm my overworked emotions. “Thank you, Kayla. I really appreciate it. Every bit of information helps.” Kayla’s voice crackled through the phone with apparent concern. “Elijah, I’ve just found out something else. The plane they boarded made a stopover in Iceland for transit. They got off there, but they never boarded another plane heading back to the US or going to France.” My heart sank. “What? Are you sure about that?”

He asked and she stopped. Turning around, she slightly smiled. "Sure" she said, and he came closer to her and pecked her on her lips. When she left, He stood there clenching his jaws. Thinking of possibilities to let this die down as soon as possible. ♥.......♥

In the end of her blabbering she didn't get any response. "Are you done?" Came the deep husky voice with Italian accent and heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah, must have been something I ate." I reply as I follow the rest of my team, into the aircraft. A few minutes later and we're back in the air as we make the final leg of our journey to the middle east. It's a long flight, and when we arrive at our destination, it's already dark as we make our way to our temporary barracks. I grab my phone out of my kit bag as I send Zoe a quick text. "Hey baby, just letting you know we arrived safely, on our way to barracks now, will ring you in the morning…… love you. 🥰"

Iris p.o.v. The ride became too quiet. I know there was silence before but now its just deathly. And I didn't know how to react anymore. I just want to go home. Not home to New York. Home to Saint Alamos. Home to my parents. Just Home, I need that break. I fucking need it. Hunter noticed the drift between us. It was obvious and it was heavy. There was an unknown elephant in the car and neither of us knew what it was to talk about addressing it.

He stopped when he saw everything. “Why did we stop? Are we there?” Fia asked, but she couldn’t hear much. She then asked curiously, “Is the wedding over? Why is the emcee not talking anymore?” Conrad looked at the man and woman kissing and the reporters surrounding them. He didn’t know how to explain the scene to the woman he was holding. “Hey, what's going on? I'm asking you a question,” Fia said as she patted Conrad’s arm.

I gasped. “It's even crazier under the sun, I am so grateful I didn't take that surgery!” At that point I started to reason it all but Before I took any step I was going to visit the hospital. But I knew nothing was going to go wrong. “We will be fine!” Olive assured. “We would be landing for s stop over. We heard the pilot call out.. “A stopover?” I asked. “Yes….in the city of love!”