Danger Zone (The Elite Book 1)

by Brooke Blaine

  As he threw a wink my way, I shoved him in the arm. There weren’t too many guys I let get away with talking to me like that, but I’d known Houdini for years. Charming bastard. “You’re cutting it a little close, aren’t you?”

  “You’re one to talk. I figured you’d already be in there sizin’ up the competition.”

  I smirked. “What competition?”

  Houdini laughed and slapped me on the back as we headed up the stairs. “Don’t think I’m lettin’ you walk away with bragging rights this time. I ain’t just gonna hand you the trophy.”

  “Mmm. We’ll see about that.”

  Walking inside, the entrance was exactly like I remembered it, albeit with more security and metal detectors. We checked in at the front desk, and as we stopped in front of the metal detector, I gestured for Houdini to go ahead.

  “Ladies first,” I said, causing Houdini to throw me the finger before walking through.

  Once we’d grabbed our bags from the conveyor belt, we followed the signs that led to the locker room, where we’d change into our flight suits before orientation. The hallways smelled like fresh paint, the walls a cream color that matched the outside of the building—yet another difference from what I remembered. Back then, they’d been a drab grey.

  “Lieutenant Hughes.”

  I stopped at the firm tone and looked behind me to see Commander Ancog walking briskly toward us. Tall and imposing, he stopped in front of me, and I straightened to attention.

  “Commander Ancog,” he said, his deep voice a rumble echoing off the walls. “I worked with your father.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “I can’t tell you how pleased we are to have the son of Razor here with us this time around. We can’t wait to see what you’re going to be like up in the air.”

  Barely in the door and there it was. “I appreciate that, sir. I look forward to making my father and NAFTA proud.”

  A hint of a smile crossed Commander Ancog’s lips. He nodded at me and only then noticed Houdini, who also got a nod.

  As Ancog walked away, Houdini said, “No pressure or anything, but if you don’t win, ya might be disowned.”

  No shit, I thought, but tried to brush off what the commander had said. I didn’t need to focus on that right now, not when classes hadn’t even started. “Let’s go.”

  Down at the end of the maze of a hall, the locker rooms split up, and we veered off to the right, running into some of the other trainees.

  Houdini seemed to know them all—of course he did—and made quick introductions as we headed into the room.

  “Thirty-five, thirty-five,” I said under my breath, scanning the locker numbers for mine, and when I found it, I dropped my bag and popped the locker open. Two sets of flight suits were hung inside, and as I reached for one of them, I heard a laugh from the other end of the room.

  Glancing to my right, I caught sight of two guys I’d yet to meet. They were talking amongst themselves and making it clear to everyone else in the room they were happy to keep it that way by not bothering to come over and introduce themselves.

  One looked to be the size of a house, and I couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to fit in the cockpit of a plane, while the other was much leaner. With their backs turned toward me I couldn’t see either one’s face, so when Houdini stepped up beside me and opened up his locker, I heard myself asking, “Who are those two?”

  Houdini peered around me to the other end of the locker room, and when he zeroed in on the two standing there, he rolled his eyes. “Gucci and Solo.”

  When he offered nothing more, and instead went back to sorting out the contents of his locker, I narrowed my eyes as the hulk looked my way.

  “Solo? As in—”

  “Yeah, as in the reckless fucker who almost cost the Navy a jet last month. That Solo. Not real sure whose dick he had to suck to get here, but clearly it worked. The guy’s trouble.”

  I studied the pair of men again, wondering which of these two was the infamous Solo, but when the hulk slung an arm around the other guy’s shoulder and pivoted him in my direction, I knew exactly which guy was which.

  I’d seen trouble last night, I just hadn’t realized it had followed me here.

  Fuck.

  5 Panther

  I COULD FEEL his eyes boring into the back of my head.

  Solo.

  Of course the persistent man from last night was now sitting behind me in the training room, because life could never just be that easy.

  I kept my attention on Commander Levy at the head of the classroom and tried to focus, even as panic flooded my veins. With such a devil-may-care reputation, would Solo out me to my peers and instructors? I kept my private life private for a reason, and now this guy’s very presence threatened what I’d worked so hard for.

  This was why I didn’t fuck around with anyone within the military: people talked, and even though it wasn’t technically against the rules anymore to be gay, it still made others wary and look at you differently. Knowing how my father felt about it had kept my lips sealed and actions under the radar from anyone other than my closest of friends—and they weren’t talking. Hell, that was why I went out of my way to hit up bars outside of town where it wasn’t likely to run into anyone with loose lips. Once I’d felt Solo’s dog tags last night, any attraction I felt no longer mattered. I wasn’t about to risk my career for anyone, so thank God I hadn’t been thinking with my cock last night.

  But damn, I’d never expected he’d show up in my life again, and definitely not here.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did the charming, attractive man I’d thankfully resisted have to be a fellow pilot with a reputation of infamy throughout the Navy?

  Beneath the desk I clenched my fists and forced my focus back on the orientation. At the front of the room, Commander Levy paced, his eyes cold and assessing.

  “Each of you have proven yourselves to be the top of your respective classes, and that’s why you’re here.” Commander Levy stopped in front of me, his hands clasped behind his back. “The Elite. It’s not just a name, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a badge of honor. The highest aviation honor in the Navy, which means all eyes are on you and what you do here in the next ten weeks.”

  It didn’t escape my notice that he stared directly at Solo as he said that, probably hoping to instill a bit of fear into the guy known to be fearless.

  “By the time you graduate—if you graduate—you’ll have your choice of jobs anywhere in the world. But I must warn you, the next two and a half months will be the most intense of your life. You’ll face scheduled and unscheduled hops at our discretion, sometimes at a moment’s notice. Sometimes you’ll go up in pairs. You’ll be forced to work together as a team while also competing against each other.”

  The thought of being paired up with the man still staring at the back of my head made me uneasy, but I’d be damned if I showed it. This competition was mine to lose, and I never lost. I wouldn’t start now.

  Commander Levy went back to pacing the room. “Only one of you will come out on top—”

  Behind me, someone snorted.

  Commander Levy jerked around, staring over my shoulder. “Is something amusing, Lieutenant Morgan?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is,” Solo replied, arrogance not-so-subtly laced through his words.

  “Since you find it important enough to interrupt my class, perhaps you’d like to share?”

  All eyes turned in Solo’s direction, and being determined not to draw attention to myself, I glanced behind me. With his flight suit showing off that spectacular body, Solo lounged casually in his seat, his arm propped up lazily on the back of his chair. A smirk tipped his lips, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, as if he wasn’t sitting in a room full of the best and most respected pilots in the Navy.

  “You say only one of us will come out on top,” Solo said, and then his eyes flicked to me. They seemed to be more golden than brown under the fluorescent li
ghts, but the devilry I’d seen in them last night was still there. “It just so happens, being on top is my favorite position.”

  Then he winked at me—fucking winked, that asshole—and I jerked back like I’d been slapped, turning back to face the front, because was he kidding with that shit? Could he be more obvious?

  “No one wants to hear about your sex life, fucker,” Utah called out, causing a low chuckle to filter across the room.

  “I’m not talking about my sex life,” Solo replied. “In that case, I don’t care who comes out on top.”

  Sweet God almighty… Like I needed that thought in my head.

  Or that visual.

  “That’s enough,” Commander Levy snapped, and then narrowed his eyes on Solo. “I’ll see you in my office at the end of the day, lieutenant.” When Utah snickered, Levy added, “You too, Utah.”

  A hush fell over the class, no one else wanting to start off their time here by getting ripped a new asshole on the first day.

  “For your first hop you’ll be working as a team. Lead and wingman. I’ve assigned your partner for the duration of the course, though your roles will change up for each different hop.”

  I glanced down at the binder in front of me and looked over the flight brief and specs of the F/A-18A Super Hornet.

  “Now, I know most of you are familiar with these jets, or should be, at least. But just in case any of you are still coming to grips with the fact you actually made it here and will be competing for the highest honor you can get, I’m giving you an easy day.” Commander Levy paused, looked over the class. “Enjoy it. It’s the only one you’ll get.”

  A murmur rang out amongst the class as the commander headed back to the desk at the front left of the room where he picked up a clipboard and pen. This was it; he was about to assign the partnerships for the duration of the competition.

  “Right, listen up. I’ve got Utah as lead with Houdini as your wingman. Phantom? You’re in lead, and Alphabet, you’re flanking him. Gucci? You’ll take lead with Whiplash as your wingman. And from what I’ve heard, Whiplash, be thankful you won’t be sharing an actual cockpit…” A chorus of jeers rang out, and Whiplash turned her head to aim her eyes Gucci’s way.

  “You ever throw up on me, lead or not, I’ll cut off your ball sac.”

  As Commander Levy continued to call out the pairings, my heart pounded and I sat up a little straighter.

  Everyone knew that who you were paired with could either make or break you when it came to these hops, and as the list got smaller and my name hadn’t yet been called, I gripped my pencil so hard that I was surprised it didn’t snap.

  There were only a few names left besides mine, none of which would’ve been my first choice, and one that was certainly my last. But surely my luck wasn’t that bad—

  “Solo? You’re going to take lead with Panther as your wingman.”

  Okay, apparently it was.

  “I want you all to work together. Remember, it’s imperative to come together as a team in this particular instance. Prove you can work well with others. Okay, let’s go over the brief.” The commander turned to pick up his binder, and as he flipped through the pages, I heard a chair shift behind me and a slight breeze on the back of my neck.

  Don’t look. Don’t look, I ordered myself. But when that all-too-familiar voice whispered by my ear, “I’m all about coming together with my team. What about you?” my head whipped to the side and I aimed a cool glare at the cocky fucker.

  Unbelievable. This was the last thing I needed. To be tied to an irresponsible, reckless hotshot who thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted and get away with it. Including, apparently, goading me.

  But I wasn’t about to bite. I was there for one reason and one reason only, and no one was going to keep me from succeeding, especially not somebody who had a target on his back. With my face set to neutral, I held Solo’s stare, refusing to let him see how much he’d gotten under my skin, and when the corner of his mouth curved and he slumped back in his seat, I slowly turned back to face the front.

  It was going to be a long ten weeks, if this shitshow of a first day was anything to go by.

  6 Solo

  TODAY WAS MY lucky day.

  First, laying eyes in the locker room on gorgeous Grant from last night, and then getting paired up? As my Ma used to say, it was a sign.

  If the frosty looks he’d been sending my way all morning were any indication, Grant—or Panther—wasn’t exactly thrilled about my presence here, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

  Panther was a classic daddy’s boy of the Navy, one of those bred-for-this-shit offspring of top-dog captains, and I’d wager ole Daddy-o wasn’t too pleased about his son’s sexual preference.

  Too bad, I thought as we were dismissed from orientation and told to go gear up. As everyone filed out of the room and headed toward the bay, I dropped back into step with Gucci but kept my eyes locked on the gorgeous man marching down the hall in front of me.

  Oh yeah, Panther was pissed.

  “I would tell you to behave yourself up there today. But since you’ve already managed to get on the commander’s shitlist, I’m just gonna go with: are ready to get your ass kicked today?”

  Somehow I managed to tear my eyes away from Panther’s spectacular ass long enough to glance at Gucci and see his arrogant smile.

  “If I were you, I’d stick with your first train of thought, because there’s no way you’re gonna kick my ass up there. Never have and never will.”

  Gucci scoffed. “You know, one of these days, someone better than you is going to come along.”

  “Yeah? Well, it ain’t gonna be you, and it ain’t gonna be today.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  I followed Gucci inside the bay, and as we headed over to where our gear was stored, I spotted Panther a few feet away. “Plus, the only guy who actually stands a chance of beating me up there just got partnered with me.”

  “Partnered?” Gucci let out a bark of laughter. “More like assigned to be your warden. He looked about as happy with that decision as someone sentenced to life without parole.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, but I wasn’t about to let that deter me. Everyone knew that Grant “Panther” Hughes, son of Captain Franklin “Razor” Hughes, was one of the best pilots in the Navy. The one to beat.

  The fact that I’d been paired up with him just increased my chances of winning. It also increased the time I’d be spending with him one on one. Something I was choosing to see as a bonus, and something he was clearly seeing as a fate worse than death.

  “Nah, he’ll come around.” I picked up my G-suit and wrapped it around my waist, snapping it shut down my side. “I grow on people, you know that.”

  “Grow on people? Like fungus, you mean?”

  I flipped Gooch the bird, then went back to clipping the legs of my suit and zipping them up, making sure they were all nice and tight, each piece of our gear having been tailor-made for us. Next, I grabbed my survival vest off the hook and my eyes wandered over to where Panther was stepping into his, which was laid out on the floor.

  My hand tightened around the torsion strap as he bent down to pull the gear up over his thighs. As he straightened to slip his arms inside the harness and maneuver it into place, I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander down his tight, built physique to where the vest lovingly cupped his crotch.

  Daaaamn. Nothing made me hotter than a sexy guy in full flight gear, and I was really damn glad my uniform was flame-retardant, because Panther was scorching hot.

  “Aww, hell.” At the sound of Gucci’s voice, I tore my eyes away from Panther to see my friend shaking his head. “You weren’t kidding earlier, were you? You really did hook up with him.”

  Well, not exactly. But I couldn’t backtrack now. Instead, I stayed silent.

  “This has disaster written all over it.”

  “Stop worrying, would you? Shit. You’re worse than a mother hen. It’s going to be
fine.” At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I stepped into my own vest and pulled it up my legs. But when I stood tall to pull my shoulder straps in place, I felt someone’s focus locked on me and looked up in time to see Panther watching me.

  His lips were pulled tight and his intense eyes narrowed as he studied me from head to toe, and when they reached my face, his expression remained unaffected. Yeah, well, that wouldn’t do. So I reached down to readjust the cock he’d awakened with his little gear-up.

  Just as I’d hoped, Panther’s eyes dropped to what I was doing, and when they quickly darted back up to my face, I aimed the same slow smile I’d thrown his way last night and winked.

  I expected some kind of reaction. More likely a scowl, but I was hoping for more of a heated look or lick-your-lips situation, any response to tell me he was affected.

  But no. Panther’s expression remained stoic as he pulled the strap tight across his chest. Then he grabbed his helmet and turned on his heel, heading out of the bay, and I quickly finished putting on the rest of my gear before he got too far.

  “See you out there,” I said, clapping a hand on Gucci’s shoulder, and then I grabbed my own helmet and jogged out in the direction of the hangar. Up ahead, Panther kept up a brisk pace, but I quickly caught up to him.

  “You wouldn’t be trying to leave without me, now, would you?” I said, popping on my Aviators as we walked out of the hangar and into the blazing sun. With all the extra gear on, it felt like it was about five thousand effin’ degrees.

  Panther kept his gaze forward. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but you got lucky with me as your partner.”

  He snorted.

  “You don’t think so? Ever flown with me?” When Panther remained silent, I dropped my voice to a purr. “Then you don’t know what you’ve been missing.”

  Panther stopped abruptly and ripped off his sunglasses. His blue eyes blazed, finally the reaction I’d been provoking him for. “I get it. You play the part of the rebellious pilot to hide your insecurities. You’re an attention seeker, which is why you don’t keep your mouth shut, and you want nothing more than to get into your competition’s head, which is why you keep fucking with me.” Grinding his jaw, he stepped even closer to me, out of earshot of the others heading out to their planes. “I keep my shit private, you get me? Say something like you did in class today again, and I will fucking end you. I will end you. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your head down, your lips zipped, and you’ll fly clean.”