God of Destruction by Alyssa Adamson

aware of his arms sliding around her slim body, wrapping
the suit jacket he’d stripped himself of around her shoulders while
he rocked her to sleep.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Eight
    Paris, France; June 29 th , 2012
    The alarm of someone’s cell phone sang
through the hotel suite, waking the sleeping inhabitants to their
third morning abroad. James was the first to lurch upright, hands
groping for the missing phone in the dark, when the thick curtains
suddenly opened, spilling bright light into the room. James, as
well as Scottie and Hayden, flinched away with startled yelps,
scowling up at Alex while she smiled cheekily in return. She held
up the screaming phone in her hand and switched the alarm off.
    “Rise and shine, guys!” she sang, skipping
around Scottie’s body on the floor to hand James his phone.
“Natalia says she wants to see the Parisian Catacombs today. The
tour starts at nine so everybody up !”
    James rubbed his eyes, flopping back against
the couch on his stomach. “Why are you awake?” he grunted as
Alex sat on his back.
    Claire stumbled out of the kitchen,
disheveled hair pulled up into a ponytail and a Starbucks coffee
gripped tightly in her hands. “I had a n…nightmare. We went for a
w…walk to get coffee and talk about it.”
    James pushed himself up, throwing Alex off
his back with a squeal. “The same one?” he demanded, staring up at
the bags lining her opaque eyes.
    She nodded. “Of course.”
    James opened his mouth to question her, but
silenced when Russell strode from the bathroom, drying his hair
with a towel. “Shower’s free,” he mumbled, throwing the towel at
Claire when she passed him.
    She glared at his back, disgustedly pulling
the towel from her face with her thumb and forefinger, before he
disappeared into the room he shared with Natalia. She let herself
cool while she placed her coffee on the side table and stepped into
the bathroom. The sound of running water followed soon after her
departure.
    Alex frowned deeply at the look on James’s
face and consequently punched him in the shoulder when he relaxed
into the couch beside her. “Ouch!” he yelled, waking Scottie as he
tried to fall back asleep.
    “You’re hiding something from me!” she
accused under her breath when Scottie shot her a look.
    James faked being wounded, leaning away from
her to avoid another smack. “I am not . Would you quit
hitting me!” he pleaded, holding her by the wrists.
    “If there was something important happening,
you’d tell me, right?” she demanded, glaring up into his face.
    “Of course I would, sweetheart,” he lied,
pressing his lips to her forehead. “Don’t worry about it.”
    She smiled, despite her reservations, and
hugged him tightly. “Okay,” she grinned, placing a chaste kiss on
his lips. “Love you.”
    “I love you, too,” he replied reflexively,
waiting until her chin was rested on his shoulder before he let his
guilt show. Natalia stepped out of her room, looking around at
those convened around the floor and spurred them into action. She
was ready to get the job done.
    An hour later saw them sitting groggily in
two taxis on their way to the entrance of the Underground. As they
approached, Alex could see a line already formed and stretched down
the sidewalk. Two green buildings sat beside the sidewalk, an older
man in the window of one with a cashbox in his grasp. James and
Natalia wordlessly approached him while the others ambled, heads
hung and eyes heavy-lidded, to the back of the line.
    “I need seven for the tour,” James asked,
pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans.
    While his attention was diverted, Natalia
shared a smile and inconspicuous wink with the man at the cashbox.
The old man cleared his throat. “Of course, young man, you and your
friends can jump in with the next