Rubble (Riders of Apollo #7)

Chapter Fifteen: Juniper Channing

The agent doesn't seem happy that I brought Asa.

"Hello Miss Channing, I see you brought a friend with you." His face is contorted into a grimace-like smile as he surveys Asa, who is so close behind me I can feel his chest brushing my back when he takes a breath. It's comforting and warm to have him there, I'm fighting every instinct to just fall into his chest and have his arms around me.

I drift behind the agent and Asa seems on edge, like he is ready to go for the agent's throat but I'm not sure why. Normally, when we walk together anyway, he takes my hand so maybe I'm the one that has upset him, I can't for the life of me figure out why he would be though. Once we've finished looking at the house, I make the decision to buy it, it fits all of my needs and it's beautiful.

The agent hurries off to get the paperwork from downstairs while Asa paces across from me in the empty master bedroom. "Have I upset you?" I ask, twisting my fingers in front of me to calm my anxiety. Within seconds, he has cleared the space between us and has my hands in mine, stopping my anxious movements.

"No, June, you didn't. Why would you ever think that?" I blush bright red, I don't want to tell him that the only reason I thought he was mad at me was that he didn't hold my hand. That's incredibly embarrassing. "Juni, you can tell me." I squeak and look away.

"It's just... oh my God, I can't tell you it's so humiliating." I try and hide my face in my hands but he stops me, drawing patterns on my wrists with his thumbs. He gives me a look that says I shouldn't be so I take a deep breath and just tell him the truth.

"I didn't hold your hand, June, because I need them to beat the shit out of him." He whispers and points towards the general direction the agent went in. I tilt my head in confusion, prompting him to explain why he would need to do that. Sure, the guy is a little weird and he did schedule the viewing at an awkward time but why would that require a beating? "I was looking through the bathroom downstairs and found these." He pulls a sachet of pills from his pocket as if that explains everything but I still don't have a clue what he is talking about. "Juni, he was going to drug you and hurt you."

My heart stops and my skin pales, I try and stop myself from descending into a panic attack. What if Asa wasn't here? No one would know what had happened to me, he could've assaulted me, killed me and no one would be able to help me. "Oh my God." I bring my shaky hands up to cover my mouth while he comforts me with soft words and gentle hands. "What do we do?"

"I've already dealt with that, okay? The cops are coming to get him, they suspect him for quite a few crimes in the area and then we'll go and talk to another agent for this house. Okay?"

"What would've happened if you weren't here, Asa? What if I hadn't told you?" I can feel a few tears make their way down my face as I consider every possibility. I've spent my life way too shielded from the bad parts of the world that I didn't even consider this to be a possibility, I put myself into a dangerous situation because I wasn't taught any different.

He coos me softly and swipes the tears from my cheeks and kisses my forehead, his entire body seizes up when the agent reappears in the room with a grin on his face. Asa spins around and presses me to his back, allowing me to calm myself down while protecting me from the other guy as well.

I find myself relaxing into his form, he would never let anything happen to me and he's made that clear many times. "Well, I have the paperwork here, ready for you to look over Miss Channing." I clear my throat, step out from behind Asa and take the papers with a casual smile, I'm hoping it's not obvious that I've been freaking out.

"Thank you." Asa tugs me back behind him as the cops flood in to pick up the agent.

"You're expected to come down to the station, Biker." One of the men demands, stepping up to Asa who doesn't even flinch at the intimidation.

"I will meet you down there. I have to drop her off and speak to my Prez." The officer growls and storms out, once they've cleared the area Asa gently pulls me out to the car doing his normal checks. "We're gonna head back to the clubhouse, okay?"

"Okay," I whisper, it would be nice to see the girls again and I'm sure I've worried Raphael by being out so late. Asa flanks my car as we drive to the club and leads me into the building with one hand on my waist and the other on his gun. Gosh, he really is tense.

"Prez, I need Hunter." Everyone is in the lounge and they all turn to look at us, probably noticing my fear and exhaustion alongside Asa's fury.

"What's going on?" Bear straightens up in his seat, his wife tucked into his side and his daughter leaning against his legs on the floor.

"Juni went to a house viewing tonight, the agent planned on drugging her. It's been suggested that he was responsible for the large crime spree in the gated community a block or two away from the house we were in. The cops have him and they want me to go down there as well, I figure I best not do that alone. Cops and I don't get along."

The girls gently pull me away from Asa and I sit down on the couch next to Marielle, who holds my hand and brushes my shoulder. "Hunter, make sure Rubble doesn't murder the cops and make sure they don't try and twist this on Juniper. They're assholes like that. Romeo, pull up everything you've got on this dickhead, I don't want him on our territory anymore after they went after one of our own."

I almost start crying again at the sheer determination and anger Bear is displaying. He's welcomed me into his family and he's willing to fight like it. "Aye Prez." Hunter and Romeo both rise from their seats to act on their orders and I squeeze Marielle's hand tightly as Asa leaves, still as furious as when we got here.

"Are you okay, honey?" Riley asks, passing me a cup of tea and squeezing my shoulder.

"I guess, it's just the idea that if I didn't tell Rubble where I was going... I could've been hurt because I never learned how to be in the real world." I shake my head and look down at my cup in humiliation.

"Sweetie, you've been locked inside your entire life, it's just a learning curve but you have us to help you, Rubble too. We'll teach you anything you want to know." Lexie reassures me with a megawatt smile, having sat down close to the rest of us.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't have a clue what I was doing either," Nova tells me as she climbs over Rogue and settles just behind him to look at me properly. "I only made it because of Leo." She bumps his back with hers and grins at me, "besides you've got all of us and that vile man is going away for as long as possible if dad has anything to do with it... right dad?"

"Yeah, princess."

"See?" I thank Bear softly and he just brushes it off, saying that I'm part of the family and he'd do anything for the family.

I don't know how I got here but I don't even care, this is better than I could've dreamed up when I was younger. A real family that would kill to protect each other and I get to be a part of it.