Page 39 of Elling & Jackie

"I have information that might change your mind about going after them." It killed him that he could be the reason Slag had problems meeting the shipment date because he'd let his dick have what it wanted.

"Speak." Roar gave him his full attention.

"You might want to sit down," he said.

"I'll stand."

What he'd done, he wouldn't blame Roar if he stripped him of his colors and let each member drain his blood. There were no laws against sleeping with a woman belonging to another motorcycle club. But, what he'd done could put a bump in them going after Brikken and getting the Feds off their back.

"At the hotel, there was a woman—"

"Let me stop you there." Roar held up his hand. "Long nights staking out Campbell gave you time. You still performed your job. That's all I care to know."

"Nei." He shook his head. "It was more than that."

"Continue."

"The woman...she helped me out before my stay when my bike stalled in the rain in front of the hotel where she worked." He swallowed, seeing the tattoo on the inside of Jacqueline's wrist in his mind. "We had a couple of run-ins, and then when I checked in to watch Campbell, she came to my room. We had sex. That was the last time I saw her."

"If you're thinking about starting something with her, you need to realize time is short. We need to get the shipment filled—"

"There can't be a next time with her," he said hoarsely. "She wore Brikken colors."

Roar's cheeks inflated, and he exhaled loudly. "That could complicate things. We're running out of options. We need fast results to get the Feds off Slag and to stay on schedule. I want to look at Brikken closer to see if there's a way we can get money or weapons."

His body hardened. "There's more."

"Jesus," mumbled Roar.

"The woman." He swallowed. "It was Jacqueline Stanton."

His responsibility to Slag collided with his feelings toward Jacqueline, and the impact could destroy everyone.

Roar immediately called a meeting. Elling only had time to go outside and have a cigarette before he was called back in front of the officers in the meeting room.

Never before had his loyalty or behavior been judged since he'd earned his full patch.

While Roar updated everyone, Elling took the judgments. He'd stood beside each one of them, supported, protected, and pledged his loyalty his whole life. They were his family when his father was a member, and again when he found himself alone.

With his back straight, he stayed strong under pressure.

Behind it all, he felt no guilt for sleeping with Jacqueline. There was only disappointment that his actions ricocheted back to the club. For that, he needed to stop the repercussions before they hurt Slag Motorcycle Club.

"It's too fucking late to draw any sense about Elling hooking up with the lady Stanton." Brage slouched in the chair. "He didn't know."

"I knew she belonged to Brikken, though," he stated.

Marcus yawned loudly. "Slag has never punished anyone for getting pussy before. I don't see any point in starting now. Hell, if it's a new by-law we're going to follow, I might as well hand over my patches."

"It's not pus..." Roar shook his head. "The situation brings a risk to Slag because she belongs to one of the men from the founding family of Brikken. This is a case by case decision. While it's over, I think we as a club need to prepare for not one, but a group of pissed off men."

Peer leaned forward. "I need to get home. Coco's watching Tyr, and she needs to work tomorrow and isn't getting a break."

"Everyone get some sleep." Roar banged his fist against the table. "Elling, do some research in the morning and try to keep us one step ahead of Brikken.

Elling left the table. He'd been chasing trails since he'd discovered he had a fascination about where people had come from and what road they'd traveled. His skills on the computer had helped Slag stay ahead of their enemies.

That desire to know more about a person had come to a sudden stop when Jacqueline offered him a can of WD-40. From there on, it was only Jacqueline he was interested in.

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