Page 9 of Elling & Jackie

Chapter 4

A rumble of a motorcyclefiltered into the lobby of the hotel. Adrenaline filled Jackie, and she handed the keycard to Mr. Case, a businessman staying for two nights.

"Enjoy your stay." She stood from the chair behind the desk.

"Thank you." Mr. Case leaned down and gripped the handle of his rollaway.

As soon as the guest stepped into the elevator, Jackie turned to Terri. "I've logged out. You're all set up."

"Enjoy your two days off." Terri slid into the chair Jackie had vacated. "The weather is supposed to be gorgeous. Are you going down to see the ships at the waterfront?"

"I'm not sure." She squinted, trying to see through the glass doors. "My sister is spending the weekend with me. I think we're going to laze around."

A bouncing figure took shape through the tinted glass. She muffled her excitement and headed forward.

Stassi pushed into the room with a backpack slung over one shoulder, looking around with a huge smile on her face. Unable to stop herself, Jackie rushed to her sister and hugged her tightly.

"Can't breathe," muttered Stassi, squeezing back equally hard. "I'm finally here. Thorn was late picking me up, and traffic was a bitch."

"Thorn brought you?" Jackie straightened, looking through the doors.

The youngest of her three brothers, Thorn was still decades older than her, having turned fifty-one years old a few months ago. She hadn't seen him in two months. Usually, one of the Brikken members of the non-relative kind brought Stassi down to Portland.

"Yeah, and I received a lecture every time we stopped on the interstate waiting for traffic to clear." Stassi flung her long hair behind her shoulders. "He drilled into me about staying right beside you and not talking to strangers. Oh, and get this. I'm supposed to call if I think you shouldn't be working at the hotel."

"Seriously?" She stepped away, planning on going outside and seeing Thorn. "He should concentrate on his own family. I'm going to go talk to him."

Stassi grabbed her wrist. "He's not out there."

She stuck out her lower lip. "He didn't want to stay and see me?"

"He wanted to check something out first." Stassi leaned closer. "There was another biker parked a block away, and you know how paranoid he is."

Her pulsed thrummed. Could it be the Slag member?

"He's going to come up to your room when he's done." Stassi walked toward the elevator. "I hope you have a pop in the fridge. I'm dying of thirst."

"Yeah. Hang on." She walked over to Terri. "My brother is going to come in. You can send him up to my room."

"What's he look like?" asked Terri.

"He's a lot older than me with long, black hair that's going gray. He'll have a leather vest on that says Brikken Motorcycle Club on the back." She shrugged. "He looks like a biker. His name's Thorn Stanton."

Terri raised her brows and refrained from asking more questions. "I'll let him up."

"Thanks." She hurried over to Stassi and got into the elevator.

Pushing the button, she rode up to the Fourth Floor and led Stassi to her room. Once inside, she kicked off her heels. It made her nervous about having Thorn confront the Slag member. If it was the same one who she'd encountered twice, he could mention approaching her, and if Thorn found out she had only mentioned running into the man once to Jett, she'd be in trouble.

Big trouble.

It wouldn't matter that she was a grown adult, living her own life, being true to herself. She was Chief's daughter. The granddaughter of Rollo, who'd built Brikken Motorcycle Club and gave everything to his family.

All three of her brothers were going to be pissed.

Even though she'd protect everything Brikken to the day she died.

She knew better than to keep information away from the club that could come back and kick their ass. Having grown up with her siblings spending time in prison and knowing Chief had also lost his freedom before she was born, she wouldn't wish a prison sentence on any of them, including any Brikken members.

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