Page 38 of Elling & Jackie

Elling ripped the hairband holding his braid behind his head. He'd trade places with Dag in a heartbeat. Nobody could make him talk. They could kill him before he'd lose another person in his life.

The officers of Slag moved toward Roar as the members went inside the clubhouse. Elling tightened his lip, taking the hit of nicotine, and hoped to keep his temper. Dag was a risk to Slag.

Young, new, and still being judged on his loyalty to the club, he was a ticking time bomb. Dag still had parents in Norway. He'd come to the U.S. as soon as he turned nineteen years old to put in his two years of prospecting for Slag. Still tender, he could break under a full-on investigation.

"What are we going to do about Dag, Prez?" asked Marcus.

"Nothing." Roar looked them all in the eye. "We've all been in his place where we have to choose life or death and decide who we're going to put our trust in. That experience built us into Slag members. It made us men of honor and loyalty. If Dag rats us out, he won't live another day. If he chooses to support his brothers, his family, his club, I'll put a patch on him the moment he gains his freedom again."

"Hell," muttered Brage lifting his arms and linking his hands behind his head. "Out of us all, Agent Campbell went for our weakest link by going after a prospect."

Frustration built up in Elling. He tongued the wad of snuff and spit the contents on the ground. If he hadn't gone on the run, he would've been here to be the go-between. Campbell wouldn't have had a chance to approach Dag.

"Does anyone know if Dag's being questioned or been charged with a crime?" Joel crossed his arms and hooked his hands in his armpits. "Can we cause some chaos and get the attention off him?"

Elling gritted his teeth. Campbell had changed his investigation without him noticing. Had he done that the last couple of days, leading him back to the clubhouse for longer hours? How had he not noticed?

"No, we need to let him sit. We'll know what happened when he comes back or if the Feds show up with a search warrant and take us all in. Let's use this time to do a sweep of the clubhouse and the bar. Brage, pass on the message to those with women and children to make sure their families are protected."

Elling blurted, "I'll go talk to Campbell."

He wouldn't allow any of them to go down. On the ride over, he'd somehow figure out what to say and do to bring the focus on him. Not Dag.

"The hell you will," said Roar.

"Is that an order?" He held his spot within the group.

Roar's gaze intensified. "Ja."

"You would risk a..." He clamped his mouth shut, stopping himself from accusing Roar of risking a young man, and walked away.

Grabbing his duffle and helmet from his Harley, he went inside the clubhouse to keep from saying more.

He was alone. He had nothing to lose. Dag still had parents. The other members of Slag had families. If it were his decision, he'd change places and bring everything down on him to save the others.

Even if he had to sit in prison, he'd at least know his Slag family was safe and free.

Inside his room, he dropped the helmet at his feet and in a burst of rage, threw the duffle against the wall. Breathing hard, he went to the window and looked out.

Roar had brought them all to Portland from Seattle because too much attention was coming their way. Several times, they all had a feeling their shipments to Norway were being watched. They couldn't risk having their line cut off.

He'd volunteered to come with Roar before he could be asked. The level of risk higher splitting the MC in two, he wanted to do his part in keeping the club protected.

Fisting his hand, he punched the wall. Instead, Dag got pulled in by the Feds.

A knock came to his door. Without turning, he said, "Ja, come in."

"Got a minute?" said Roar.

He turned around and nodded.

"With Bantorus one step ahead of us, we need to put our efforts in a different direction. We'll have a meeting in two days to figure out where we can pick shit up to fulfill the shipment. In the meantime, I want you to ask around and see what everyone knows about Dag. Specifically, if he was following the by-laws of Slag and if any of the members might've spoken too much around him." Roar's tired eyes studied Elling. "Rest up tonight. I need the officers on high alert. I don't know what we can expect tomorrow."

When Roar stepped away, Elling moved forward. "What direction are you thinking of going?"

"Lagsturns is out of the question. We don't have time to go the distance to put pressure on them." Roar inhaled swiftly. "Bantorus was a shit job that could come back and bite us in the ass. We'll put our focus on Brikken Motorcycle Club."

Jacqueline.Elling straightened. He hadn't had time to bring Roar up to date with what went down at the hotel. He'd filled him in on Agent Campbell but hadn't touched on having sex with the woman who belonged to the founding family of Brikken.

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