Need for Speed (The Elite Book 2) Read online

  Bang bang bang.

  The loud knocking on my door made me look toward it, but I didn’t move. I wasn’t in the mood to see anyone today. So unless the person outside was here to tell me the place was burning down, they could just stay out there. I was content to wallow in my own misery—alone.

  “Solo! Hey, Solo?”

  Gucci.

  “You in there? Open up, man.”

  Nope. Not gonna happen. Not today. Things got real quiet then, and just when I thought he’d left, the banging started up again.

  “Come on, Solo. Answer the fucking door. He woke up.”

  Huh? Wait…what?

  “Panther woke up. Where are you?”

  As Gucci’s words penetrated the door and started to sink in, I threw the ball across the ground and jumped to my feet. I pulled open the door not a second later, and when Gucci caught sight of me, a frown creased his forehead.

  “Okay, you look like hell.”

  I winced against the sunlight, my eyes trying to adjust after I’d sat in my room for the past however many hours with the curtains drawn. “What did you just say?”

  “You look like hell.”

  “No, before that, moron.”

  “Oh, yeah. Panther woke up.”

  As my brain tried to play catch-up, I stood there gripping the door, because just hearing those three words was like some kind of dream—or a nightmare, if I was still asleep and this wasn’t real.

  “He woke up?”

  “Yeah.” Gucci nodded, and then shoved open the door to my room and walked inside. “An hour or so ago. They wanted to check him out before they let us all know. Figured we’d want to charge over there and demand to see for ourselves that the golden boy was back in the game.”

  Still not believing what I was hearing, I turned to see Gucci walking over to the curtains. He pulled one open and then the other, and as I kicked the door shut behind me, I said, “How… How is he?”

  “Pretty banged up.” He pivoted to face me and crossed his arms as he leaned against the window. “Something you’d know if you’d come to see him over the past few days.”

  “Don’t start on me again.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then what would you call it?”

  Gucci rubbed his fingers over his stubble. “Pointing out a fact.”

  “Yeah? Well, you can take your fact and shove it up your—”

  “Hey, hey.” Gucci raised his hands. “Chill, okay? This is me you’re talking to. I know what this is all about, but you need to get past it, man. You need to get past it and come and see him.”

  I ground my back molars together as I forced myself to swallow in a gulp of air. I wished things were that easy, that I could just push aside this anxiety that had a hold on me whenever I pictured Panther rocketing out of his jet and careening toward the Pacific. But it wasn’t that easy, and his horrifying accident had brought forth a crippling memory that I’d been so good at keeping buried.

  “I can’t.” The words were clipped and final, but that didn’t seem to mean shit to Gucci. He shoved off the window and strode over to me, then he took hold of my biceps and squeezed them tight.

  “Look, I know what happened to Panther a few days ago hit close to home for you more than any of us. But he’s okay, and you need to come and see that with your own two eyes.”

  I knew what Gucci was saying was right, but at the same time I couldn’t stop the sheer panic that was making my palms sweat and my pulse race.

  “Hey?” Gucci gave me a gentle shake to refocus me. “Why don’t you go take a quick shower, and I’ll wait and head over with you.”

  I wanted to tell him no, that I would go over when I was ready. But I had a feeling that if it were left up to me, I would avoid seeing Panther for good.

  “Solo?”

  “Yeah, okay,” I finally said, and when Gucci let me go, I headed toward the bathroom. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  I could feel Gucci’s eyes on me as I made my way through to the bathroom, and after I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, I looked at the mirror.

  The man looking back at me was a mere shadow of myself. The dark circles under my eyes, the sad shade of my sallow skin. The lack of sleep had gotten to me, and I knew Gucci was right. If I had any hope of finding my way back from this, of being able to focus again on all of the reasons I was here—number one being to win—then I needed to overcome this. I needed to push past the terror, past the fear, and not let old ghosts consume me, because if I did that, they would eat me alive.

  It was time to face my demons—and Panther—head-on.

  3 Panther

  “IT’S ABOUT TIME you woke up. The whole ‘I’m unconscious’ bit was getting old, and I didn’t want to be known as the guy who won by beating an invalid.”

  At the sound of Solo’s familiar voice, I turned my head on the pillow to see him leaning up against the doorjamb, looking better than anyone had a right to look. In worn jeans that molded to his body like a second skin and a tight t-shirt with the word NAVY printed across it, he looked built, sexy, and exactly as I remembered him. Pity the same couldn’t be said about me.

  He pushed off the frame and scanned the empty room as though checking no one else was there. Then he stopped by the bed, looked me over and said, “I gotta say, I much prefer the way you looked the last time I saw you in a bed than this.”

  My lips twitched despite myself, and when my cheeks moved in response, a hiss of air left me from the pain it caused.

  “Shit.” I reached for my face, but when that hurt just as much, I let out a breath instead. “Hi.”

  Solo slipped his hands into his pockets as though needing something to do with them, then gave that crooked smile I knew so well. “Hi. I would say something like ‘fancy meeting you here,’ but…”

  I half coughed/laughed and shifted, trying to sit up a little. “Yeah, you were kind of cheesy that first night.”

  “Is that right?”

  I nodded, and he shrugged.

  “Eh, what do I care?” he said, dark eyes twinkling with mischief. “It worked. So, fancy meeting you here.”

  And just like that, my day got a little brighter.

  Solo glanced over his shoulder, and I knew he was checking to see if anyone we knew was standing outside or about to enter the room, and when he seemed happy the coast was clear, he placed a hand on the rail of my bed and leaned in close to me.

  I could smell his cologne as it swirled around me and replaced the sterile alcohol that had become the norm, and then his eyes turned serious and he said, “If you ever scare me again like that again, I will hunt you down and fucking kill you myself. You got it, lieutenant?”

  He hovered over me, and just as I was about to answer, he brushed his fingers lightly across my bruised face.

  “And I thought I looked bad…”

  I swallowed, my heart thudding so hard that I was shocked the monitor wasn’t screeching. But when no sound other than his breathing and mine could be heard, I licked my dry lips and said, “You look perfect.”

  A grin slowly curved Solo’s mouth as he straightened. “How many drugs they got you on right now?”

  I blinked, about to tell him not enough, when laughter rang out down the hall and Houdini’s familiar drawl traveled inside the room. Like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, Solo took a quick step back and schooled his features, and a second later, when Houdini walked inside with Gucci, I was hard-pressed to find the man who’d just been so close to me that I could’ve kissed him.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Solo himself come to grace you with his presence,” Houdini said as he walked by Solo and knocked shoulders with him. “’Bout time you showed up. You have something more important to do these past couple days?”

  “Bite me,” Solo snapped, and just when I thought he might lunge at him, Gucci walked into the room and stepped between the two.

  “So, Panther,” he said, wrapping an arm around Solo and guiding the two of them toward the bed—away from Houdini. “You get an ETA on when you’re allowed to go home? You gonna have to quit the course?”

  At Gucci’s waggling brows, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not quitting the course, no.”

  “Aw, well, I mean, I didn’t want you to quit. I just thought you might have to.” When Gucci patted Solo’s chest, he added, “Plus, no one wants to be stuck with this guy here, so we kinda need you to come back.”

  “It’ll take more than a few bruises to knock me out.”

  “I guess you look worse than you feel, eh?” Gucci laughed until Solo backhanded him against the chest. “Ow. What? It’s not like he has to look in a mirror.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Gooch.”

  “The dark shadows, the red eyes. He kinda looks possessed—”

  Solo shut him up by throwing his arm around Gucci’s neck and squeezing until Gucci hunched over and coughed out an apology. “What was that? Wanna say it again?”

  “I said sorry.” When Solo let go, Gucci glared at his friend and rubbed his neck. “It was a joke.”

  Houdini chuckled. “You know you only have to wrap one of those monster biceps around Solo and his head would pop off. Go ahead. You’d be doin’ us all a favor.”

  “You’d miss me,” Solo said. “Admit it. I keep things interesting.”

  “Nah, you only take the heat off the rest of us by actin’ a fool.” Houdini cocked his head. “On second thought, maybe we’ll keep ya around after all.”

  As they continued to hurl insults back and forth, I relaxed against the pillow and grinned. It was comforting to see nothing much had changed while I’d been out. Or had it? Sure, I’d told the guys I’d be back in class and ready to go, but would that really be the case? I hadn’t spoken to anyone
at NAFTA yet, and crashing a seventy-million-dollar plane wouldn’t put me in anyone’s good graces, my fault or not. Who knew what the outcome of the investigation would be? On top of that, one look at my banged-to-shit body, and I had a feeling they wouldn’t like what they saw.

  As if he sensed the change in my mood, Solo looked over and raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it, not right now, and I sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it with the others around.

  Shit. What if NAFTA didn’t allow me to continue?

  4 Solo

  ONE LOOK AT Panther’s face told me he’d retreated into heavy thoughts, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what those could be. Self-doubt. Pain. Probably wondering if he still had his spot at NAFTA or if he’d fucked it.

  God, I hadn’t wanted to come here and see the aftermath of what happened, but now I was glad Gucci had all but dragged me to the hospital. I thought seeing Panther lying in the hospital bed would send me spiraling into a dark place I wouldn’t come back from, but now that I was standing there looking at him, I realized it was the complete opposite.

  Panther looked rough, no doubt about that, but seeing him awake meant he was alive, and that outcome was a million times better than what had happened to my brother. Of course, I didn’t want Panther to know how panicked I’d been, so before I entered the room, I’d shoved down my emotions, determined to keep things light like always. When it came to dealing with the tough stuff, it was either shut down or make a fucking joke. I’d already spent two days staring at the wall, so it was well past time to move on to phase two.

  “So,” I said, leaning forward to brace my hands on the end rail of the bed. “When can we spring you? Or do you find the meatloaf surprise and Jell-O too appetizing to leave?”

  That made Panther crack a smile. “I haven’t had the pleasure of meatloaf surprise just yet.”

  “You will this afternoon,” said the nurse as she pushed a standing cart inside the room and stopped beside Panther’s bed. “If you can manage to keep it down, it looks like you’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

  “Hell yeah, did ya hear that?” Houdini said. “You’ll be up and flying again in no time.”

  The nurse whipped her head around and pinned Houdini with a stern look. “You’d do well to make sure your friend doesn’t push himself too hard. His body needs time to heal.” She ran a thermometer across Panther’s forehead, and I found myself glancing at her computer screen to check his vital numbers. All within normal.

  “Uh, maybe we should go,” Gucci said to Houdini. “Get a drink or something while your guy gets probed.”

  “That would be a good idea,” the nurse said as she clicked away on her keyboard.

  “Right…yeah, okay. I’ll be back.” Houdini gave Panther a look that said, Good luck with your bitch nurse, and as Gucci followed after him, he shot me a wink.

  Alone again. Well, almost.

  “So, um, you said he might be able to go home tomorrow?”

  When Nurse Ratched looked my way, I offered up my most charming smile, and what do you know, she returned it.

  “Looks that way. Your…friend”—she looked between us, and when neither of us corrected her, she smirked—“is doing really well considering what he’s been through.” As she went back to typing away on her computer, she asked, “Will you be the one taking care of him?”

  My eyes flew to Panther, and just when he was about to open his mouth and likely tell her hell no, I did what I did best. I swooped in and took advantage of the hand just dealt to me.

  “Yeah, that’s the plan. Our rooms are next door to one another back at the barracks, and I figured it’d be the smartest option.”

  The nurse nodded and looked to Panther. “That sound about right to you?”

  I eyed Panther, wondering if he’d try to contradict me. But when all he did was nod, I grinned. “See? We got this.”

  “Hmm.” The nurse side-eyed me before turning her attention back to Panther. “This guy responsible? I don’t want to hear about any shenanigans once I set you free.”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, I could’ve sworn I saw Panther’s lips twitch, because let’s be real, the last thing anyone would call me was responsible. But again, he nodded.

  “Okay. Well, if you can keep this all down and you’re still doing well tomorrow, I’m close to positive the doctor will sign your discharge papers. But you’re going to need someone with you around the clock for the next seventy-two hours at least. We want to make sure you’re tolerating the meds okay, sleeping okay, functioning okay. Do you understand?”

  Panther locked eyes with me, and I wondered if he was thinking what I was. Seventy-two hours of mandatory confinement with one another sounded pretty fucking good right about now, after the last two days left wondering.

  “Yeah, I understand,” he finally said. “And I have no doubt Solo will take great delight in keeping me in line.”

  I knew Panther meant that in a purely caretaker role, but my dick heard it in a whole other light.

  “Very good. Then I’ll get the doctor up to date and we’ll work on getting you out of here.”

  “Best news I’ve heard all day.”

  “You,” she said, looking to me. “Make sure those other two don’t rile him up when they get back. He needs to rest.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She chuckled as she began to push her cart out of the room, and as she disappeared out the door, I heard, “How do you manage to charm even the most difficult of us?”

  “Including yourself in that statement, Lieutenant Hughes?” I walked around the end of his bed until I was up by his head, and when Panther turned to look at me, I saw a kind of…wonder in his eyes.

  “Yeah, I guess I am. I was determined not to like you with your I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude, but…”

  “But?”

  Panther’s bloodshot eyes fell to my mouth, and he sighed. “When you weren’t here, I—”

  When Panther cut himself off, I placed a hand on the rail and leaned over him. “Don’t you dare stop there. You…?”

  Panther licked his lips as though trying to decide whether or not to admit what he was thinking. “I really wished you were.”

  My heart all but stopped. It was honest, raw, and so unexpected that I wanted to kick myself in the ass for having stayed away. What the hell had I been thinking, leaving him here alone to deal with all this shit—because I’d been, what, scared? How the hell must he have felt?

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, and leaned down until my forehead rested against his. “I was busy being a fucking idiot.”

  When Panther chuckled, I raised my head and stroked my fingers down his cheek. “But I’m done now, and you’re stuck with me. Seventy-two hours of forced confinement. Think you can handle it?”

  Panther reached up to take my hand and squeezed my fingers. “I ejected out of a plane plummeting to the ocean at a million miles per hour and survived. I’m pretty sure I can handle being stuck with you for three days.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Panther grinned and then let out a half cough, half chuckle. “I don’t know. But I’m looking forward to finding out.”

  5 Panther

  THE TAXI DRIVER pulled into my parking space in front of my temporary apartment on base, and it was then that I realized I’d completely forgotten about my motorcycle still sitting all by its lonesome at NAFTA.

  “I would’ve driven that sweet ride of yours back here if I didn’t think you’d castrate me for touching it.” Solo gave me a crooked smile, handed the driver a wad of cash, and then rounded the cab before I could pop open my door.

  “Uh ah,” Solo said, as he reached behind me to help lift me out of the back seat. “You’re not supposed to do anything physical, and that includes opening doors.”

  “Or getting out of the car by myself, apparently. I think I can manage, but thanks.”

  I tried to push him off, but the guy wasn’t budging. He wrapped one of my arms around his neck and took me by the waist, helping me up onto the sidewalk, which really wasn’t necessary.

  “Solo, I can walk—”