CLASSIFIED
The Elite #3
Brooke Blaine
Ella Frank
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Brooke Blaine & Ella Frank
www.brookeblaine.com
www.ellafrank.com
Edited by Arran McNicol
Cover Design: By Hang Le
Cover Photography: Roberto Viccaro
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Synopsis
Also by Brooke Blaine
Also by Ella Frank
1. Panther
2. Solo
3. Panther
4. Solo
5. Panther
6. Solo
7. Panther
8. Solo
9. Panther
10. Solo
11. Panther
12. Solo
13. Panther
14. Solo
15. Panther
16. Solo
17. Solo
18. Panther
19. Solo
20. Panther
21. Solo
22. Panther
23. Solo
24. Panther
25. Solo
26. Panther
27. Solo
28. Panther
29. Solo
30. Panther
31. Solo
32. Panther
33. Solo
34. Panther
35. Panther
36. Solo
37. Panther
38. Solo
Epilogue
Thank You
About Brooke Blaine
About Ella Frank
Synopsis
Classified is the conclusion of Solo and Panther’s story and should only be read after books one & two.
They train to serve their country.
They strive to be the best.
But only a select few can be...
The Elite
* * *
MATEO MORGAN
CALL SIGN: SOLO
Reckless, arrogant, and bold, Solo is as known in the U.S. Navy for his bad-boy reputation as he is for his skills as a fighter pilot. It’s a surprise to his peers, then, when he’s chosen to train and compete at the most prestigious naval aviation academy in the world.
MISSION RULES:
1.Kick everyone’s ass.
2.Do whatever it takes to win.
3.Do your best to distract the competition.
4.Especially when that competition is a gorgeous blue-eyed perfectionist who makes your blood run hot.
* * *
GRANT HUGHES
CALL SIGN: PANTHER
Disciplined, smart, and confident, Panther can’t afford not to play by the rules. As the son of a top Navy commander, all eyes are on him, and being anything less than number one is unacceptable.
MISSION RULES:
1.Keep it safe in the air.
2.Prove you’re more than Commander Hughes’s son.
3.No distractions. Stay focused.
4.Don’t fall for your competition—especially not the rebellious heartbreaker with lips made for sinning.
In the heat of the hot California sun, tempers flare and desires ignite as Solo and Panther try to resist their attraction while fighting to be number one.
With passion this intense, the question remains:
Who’s gonna come out on top?
Also by Brooke Blaine
South Haven Series
A Little Bit Like Love
A Little Bit Like Desire
The Unforgettable Duet
Forget Me Not
Remember Me When
L.A. Liaisons Series
Licked
Hooker
P.I.T.A.
Romantic Suspense
Flash Point
PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Aced
Locked
Wedlocked
Fallen Angel Series
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Halo
Viper
Angel
An Affair In Paris
Elite Series
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Danger Zone
Need For Speed
Standalone Novels
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
Also by Ella Frank
The Exquisite Series
Exquisite
Entice
Edible
The Temptation Series
Try
Take
Trust
Tease
Tate
True
Confessions Series
Confessions: Robbie
Confessions: Julien
Confessions: Priest
Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest
Confessions: Henri
Confessions: Bailey
Prime Tine Series
Inside Affair
Sunset Cove Series
Finley
Devil’s Kiss
Masters Among Monsters Series
Alasdair
Isadora
Thanos
Standalones
Blind Obsession
Veiled Innocence
PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Aced
Locked
Wedlocked
Fallen Angel Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Halo
Viper
Angel
An Affair In Paris
Elite Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Danger Zone
Need For Speed
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
1 Panther
FROM THE MOMENT I’d entered the convention center, where the Navy Ball was being held, I felt sick to my stomach. Actually, strike that. From the moment I’d gotten into the limo with Houdini and the others and caught sight of Solo watching us drive away, I knew in my gut that I had made the wrong decision. The further away I got from Solo, the more agitated I became, but it wasn’t until we all made our way inside the lobby of the convention center that I knew there was no way I could go on pretending everything was okay. That I wasn’t dying inside.
As the others headed toward the main hall, I could only slink into the shadows and wait. It felt like forever, but then…I saw him.
Solo trailed the group of fellow trainees he’d ridden with, looking every bit as unenthusiastic as I felt about having to go inside, but damn he looked gorgeous. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His tanned skin paired perfectly with the brilliant, crisp dress whites his leanly muscled body filled out so well, and he walked with a confidence I knew wasn’t faked.
Look at me, I willed him. Turn around. Don’t go without me.
As if I’d said the words out loud, Solo looked over his shoulder, and those whiskey-colored eyes widened slightly.
Damn. If I’d thought he’d looked good from behind, it had nothing on the perfect vision he made as he walked toward me.
I licked my lower lip and fidgeted with the hat in my hands, and whe
n he stopped a couple of feet away, I told him exactly what I thought.
“You look…really good.”
“So do you.” Solo tried for a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Good enough to eat.”
I knew he was trying for a bit of levity, but I couldn’t make myself see the humor in the situation right now.
“Hey,” he said, taking a step toward me, though he still kept himself at a distance. “What’s going on? How come you’re out here instead of in there?”
“I—I can’t do this.”
I could tell immediately that Solo had taken my words the wrong way, because a shadow of fear entered his eyes.
“You can’t do what?” he said.
“I can’t pretend anymore.” I took in an unsteady breath. “I can’t go in there pretending.”
“Pretending…what, exactly?”
“You know what, Mateo. I can’t go in there and lie and tell people I couldn’t find a date when the person I want by my side is standing right in front of me.”
Solo’s entire body went still. So still that I wasn’t even sure he was breathing, and shit, that couldn’t be a good sign.
Oh God, why did I say that, when he obviously didn’t—
“Everyone would know.”
Three words, ones I knew had the power to change everything, but what if it was worth it? What if we were worth it?
I kept my gaze steady on him, showing him I wasn’t afraid. “I know.”
Solo took another step toward me, and then he did something I didn’t expect.
He held out his hand.
I swallowed hard, looking from his hand back up to his face, to that sly half-grin, and then he winked at me. “Do you trust me?”
If you had told me weeks ago that I’d choose to put my life and the fate of my career in Solo’s hands, I would’ve said you were crazy. But now, nothing had ever felt so right.
His eyes widened slightly as I put my hand in his, like he wasn’t expecting me to so readily agree. That he hadn’t expected me to jump when he jumped. But this was exactly where I wanted to be. It was where I’d wanted to be from the moment I’d shut the door of the limousine and driven away from this man, and nothing would stop me from taking this next step.
“I trust you. The question is, do you trust yourself?”
Solo’s fingers tightened around mine, and then he tugged me toward him and gave a slight nod.
“You make me want to.”
The vulnerability in his voice made my heart thump a little harder. Solo might be out and proud, and appear as though he didn’t give two shits about anyone else’s opinion. But I was well aware that ninety percent of that bravado was a front, a show he put on for those around him, and knowing he was just as apprehensive about walking through those doors made my confidence resurface.
“Then that’s all we need, right? Each other?” I knew I was putting it all out there. I was placing not only my trust but my emotions in this man’s hands, and when Solo’s lips curved into that sensual smile I loved, my knees nearly fell out from under me.
“Hmm, I think you might be right.”
Damn. Those dress whites, that smile, and the implication lacing Solo’s words made my cock stand up and pay attention. Not exactly the best position to find myself in, especially since this uniform was fitted in all the right ways.
“Okay, you need to stop looking at me like that.”
Solo licked along his lower lip. When my fingers automatically tightened on his, he chuckled. “Like what?”
“Like we’re alone and have the entire night to explore everything your eyes are suggesting.”
Solo looked around the empty lobby. “I don’t see anyone else out here, lieutenant.”
I shook my head. “Be serious. My father is standing just through that door.”
Solo’s eyes all but twinkled, and just when I thought he’d say screw it and drag me off somewhere more private, he turned on his heel and tugged on my hand. As I followed behind him, my eyes traveled down to the perfectly fit cut of his jacket and pants. When we finally got to the lobby doors, he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at me.
“Jesus, Panther. Stop staring at my ass. Your father is right on the other side of the damn door.”
My lips twitched as he reached for the handle, and it was in that moment that I realized one of the main reasons I’d fallen for this heartbreaker, this bad boy, who had the ability to calm and excite me all at once.
Where I was cool and calm under pressure, Solo was ballsy and reckless. He took delight in shocking the hell out of those around him, and tonight was going to be no different.
2 Solo
I WASN’T FOOLING Panther. I knew he could see right through my devil-may-care act, but he wasn’t giving me hell about it. Wisecracks were how I dealt with things that were too heavy, moments where the pressure was so high that there was a possibility that everything could go wrong. And make no mistake, once we walked through those doors, everything could go wrong.
But Panther’s hand in mine meant he was willing to risk the safety net of his life for what he wanted—and what he wanted was me.
If I could bottle up the high that I was feeling, I’d make fucking millions. As it was, it felt like my heart had grown five sizes too big and was going to burst out of my chest at any moment, but I had to reel it in if I had any hope of making it through those doors.
“You ready?”
Panther put on his cap and blew out a breath. Then he looked at me, eyes shining with determination, squeezed my hand, and nodded. “Ready.”
Without taking my eyes off his—and before doing something crazy, like hauling him back to the barracks to have my way with him—I threw open the door to the main hall.
Blue lights flashed across the dimly lit room to the beat of the live jazz band playing “Summertime,” and as my eyes adjusted, I could see the sheer amount of people crowding the large room. Elaborately decorated round tables took up the majority of the space, though there was a sizeable dance floor in front of the band, but it was what lay directly before me that made Panther squeeze my hand in a death grip.
He didn’t have to worry, though; I wasn’t letting go of him.
Intimidating was the word I’d use to describe the high-ranking officers that stood in a seemingly never-ending receiving line down the navy and gold rolling carpet. When Panther and I stepped into the room, all eyes landed on us.
It wasn’t often that the top brass betrayed their surprise, but several pairs of eyes widened, and among those…Panther’s father. He stood a few feet away among his peers, respected and feared in equal measure, and I waited to see his response. There was no way he’d make a scene, not here, but I didn’t want him or anyone giving Panther a hard time, either. When I didn’t see any telltale signs of displeasure—no clenched jaw, no balled fists—I almost sighed in relief, though we weren’t in the clear yet.
“Lieutenant Mateo Morgan, call sign Solo, currently enrolled in the Elite,” boomed the loudspeaker, announcing my arrival. “Joined by Lieutenant Grant Frederick Hughes, call sign Panther, currently enrolled in the Elite.”
Now every pair of eyes in the entire fucking place was staring our way. It was like with that announcement, the ball had come to a halt to see the new arrivals, including our fellow trainees, some of whom needed to pick their jaws up off the floor.
Not one to back down from curiosity, even when it was directed our way by hundreds of nosy fuckers, I shot them a wink and brought Panther around so that we could make our way down the receiving line.
That meant I had to let go of him to greet the higher-ups, but our statement had already been made: we were together, here together, and if anyone had a problem with that, they could kindly fuck off.
Or my fist could not-so-kindly tell them to fuck off later.
“Lieutenant Morgan.” The first man in line wasn’t someone I’d met before, but I’d heard enough about him to know who he was instantly.
“Captain Perry,” I said, shaking his hand.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you, young man.”
He may have meant that as an admonishment, but I grinned broadly. “And it’s all probably true, sir.”
His bushy eyebrow rose, but his smirk made me think that this was a man who didn’t seem to mind someone shaking things up a little—thank fuck.
It was nice not to be met first thing with someone who had a pole shoved up his—
“And you must be Lieutenant Hughes. The base has been buzzing about you since you decided we needed to upgrade one of our planes.”
Yep, this Captain Perry was definitely not a stuffed shirt. Not like— “Good evening, Commander Levy.”
“Lieutenant Morgan,” Levy said with a clipped nod, as his eyes ping-ponged between me and my…date.
I straightened my shoulders and schooled my features. I mean, what was the worst he could do? Throw us out? Okay, then we’d head back to our barracks together. I didn’t really see a downside to that.