Page 44 of Elling & Jackie

Chapter 16

"Slag. Slag. Slag."

The all-member cheer rattled the interior of the clubhouse. Elling stepped out of the way of Peer striding forward with a bottle of whiskey.

Two Slag members carried Dag on their shoulders and deposited him in the middle of the crowd. Elling lifted his bottle. Only a few minutes ago, Dag had shown up at the gate, surprising them all.

He'd been held seventy-two hours at the Portland Police Precinct, and then let go. The Feds wouldn't have released him if he'd been charged with a crime.

Dag hadn't talked. That's all that mattered. He'd proven his loyalty.

Roar strode forward and threw his arms around Dag, lifting him off the ground. They parted with the president slapping him on the back. Worn out and barely holding on, Dag swayed on his feet, and his gaze flickered around the room as if someone would sideline him if he made the wrong move.

The crowd quieted. Roar kept his hand on the back of Dag's neck, holding him in place.

In Roar's other hand, he gifted Dag with a full patch. "Find a woman, take a shower, and join us in the meeting room in two hours, brother."

Elling stayed back. If not for him going on the run instead of staying at the clubhouse to intercept Agent Campbell, he could've protected Dag from the harassment he went through.

Anita, one of the single women who stayed at the clubhouse, slipped her hand into Dag's and pulled him toward the stairs, rioting another cheer from the members. Elling walked away from the crowd and pressed his back against the wall.

As if Dag's return signaled Slag taking a step in the right direction and with one less thing to worry about, the members went straight to drinking.

But Agent Campbell wouldn't give up his fight to bring Slag Motorcycle Club down. If they could figure out where the Feds got their information that led them to Slag, they could take care of the problem.

Yet, having attention on them in Portland benefited the club as a whole. Seattle Chapter was left alone to get the shipments on the ship for Norway.

But there was a fine line they had to walk, or there would be devastating results. They all felt the pressure when their control of the situation slipped.

Roar and Brage approached him. He lifted his drink and took a long swallow. While the others celebrated, they still had unfinished business.

"It's good that Dag held steady," he said.

"Ja." Roar leaned against the wall beside him. "The kid earned his place."

Brage took the other side of him, and together they looked out at the crowd of Slag members celebrating. The brotherhood within the club was thick tonight. They depended on each other. The only way they'd keep ahead of the game was if they stuck together with each of them remaining strong and solid.

Dag gave them all hope that the brotherhood remained united enough to survive.

"We'll all find out what Dag has to say at the meeting, but I've been thinking..." Roar leaned ahead and looked at Brage before focusing on Elling again. "I've brought this up to Brage already. I think it would be a good idea to keep the pressure on Campbell. He got to Dag when we stepped back. And now, he's going to be pissed. He expected to slam down a sentence on Dag and probably come after most of Slag in the process. That didn't happen."

"You want me to make him my priority again?" he asked.

"It depends. Is your head on straight?" Roar studied him. "I don't want to put you at risk if you can't focus."

"I can focus."

Brage stepped in front of him. "Can you return to the hotel?"

"Do you think that's necessary?" For how much time he spent at the clubhouse and only returning to the hotel for a few hours while Campbell caught some sleep, he couldn't be sure that was the best course of action.

"It throws Campbell off. He's wondering why you're there and following him. The more we can fuck with him, the better. We have three weeks to gain more supplies to fill the shipment. The extortion money we took from Moroad Motorcycle Club does the most for our purposes, but we need more. While you're at the hotel with Campbell, we can come and go without anyone watching." Roar ran his hand down his beard. "I don't want to put you in a position where you're going to become distracted. If you slip your guard, Campbell will string you alive."

He drained the rest of his beer and dropped his hand to his side. "I can do it."

Adrenaline filled him. Jacqueline was at the hotel.

"Hell, Elling." Brage's gaze narrowed. "I can see what you're thinking. Campbell must be the only thing on your mind."

---