How to use the Element API endpoint without wrapping it in data object
Use the config setting 'first' =&gt; true and wrap the endpoint in a function

like this:

'api/link' =&gt; function() {
    return [
        'elementType' =&gt; 'Entry',
        'first' =&gt; true,
        'criteria' =&gt; ['section' =&gt; 'mysecton'],
        'paginate' =&gt; false,
        'transformer' =&gt; function(EntryModel $entry) {
            return $something;
        }
    ];
}