Free Finish the Course (The Barnes Family Book 1) by Becky Riker Page B

Slater’s direction. He bumped it with his own, a little surprised by her action.
    The reporter kept talking, “So, do you get to keep the vehicle?”
    Barnes laughed at the idiocy of the question. Slater watched her throw her head back in amusement. It had been easier to see her as a colleague when she was dressed like him. The gauzy dress she was wearing now was distracting him from his objective. He shouldn’t have asked her to change out of her ACU’s.
    “No,” the guy responded as if he was disappointed. “The cops called the Army, and they were there in, like ten minutes. Then they came in and questioned me – kept asking if I had seen a tall brunette woman and a big guy. I told them I never saw nobody but the Chinese lady.”
    Hanbali snorted at the man’s mistake, “Chinese.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Henning,” she faced the camera. “Possibly, the reason the Army was asking about a tall brunette woman was because a woman posing as a colonel left Andrews Air Force Base with a troop transport today. Brent Jackson has the story on that. Brent?”
    “Thanks, Theresa. I’m here at Andrews where they say a man and woman stole the very troop transport that was found behind the car rental store.”
    The voice in the studio piped up, “Do they know who the man and woman are, Brent?”
    “They are not sure about the woman, but, according to unofficial sources, the man is probably Captain Slater Reed of the US Army.”
    Slater groaned at hearing his name. Someone had loose lips.
    “The Army is refusing to comment on that, and they will not release a picture of Captain Reed, saying it could jeopardize national security.”
    Desk woman spoke again, “Do we have, at least a description?”
    “The woman is about five feet ten inches and one hundred eighty pounds. She has dark brown hair. Captain Reed is six-one, short black hair, and about two hundred pounds.”
    Barnes’ mouth dropped open, “One-eighty?”
    Slater laughed at the very bad estimate, “I guess that extra pair of pants really bulks you up.”
    She started to smile at his response, but he spoke again.
    “Either that or you should lay off the MRE brownies.”
    She shot him a nasty look and punched his shoulder.
    The male anchor finished the story, “Despite the Army’s lack of cooperation, the local police force is determined to find who deposited the troop transport at the rental store. Captain Reed should be assumed to be armed and dangerous. If you see anybody matching either of these descriptions, please call the number below.”
    “I pity anyone matching those descriptions,” Hanbali said with a laugh.
    “They nailed mine,” Slater grimaced, “I hope my mom isn’t watching.”
    “She’ll be upset?” Hanbali guessed.
    “She’ll record it and play it at family gatherings.”
    “What’s the plan?” Barnes knew they had to keep moving forward.
    “Sleep,” he surprised the women. “I think we could use a couple hours of it before we head out.”
    “Here?” Hanbali glanced around the room.
    “Yes, here,” he shut off the television and leaned against a wall, “You two go first. I’ll wake you up in an hour and a half, Barnes. We’ll trade off until twenty-two hundred. Then we can leave in the dark.”
    Barnes was already succumbing, “Do you have your goggles with you?” she spoke through a yawn.
    “I do,” he assured her, resisting the urge to reach out and caress her free flowing tresses.
    Both women fell asleep quickly, so he had the freedom to admire Captain Barnes – Anna. The armed forces did their best to squelch femininity in their women, and with good reason. It certainly had no place in camp or on base. However, that practice meant it had been a long time since Slater had seen a woman dressed like that, looking like that.
    Anna’s cheek rested on her hand. The other hand gently clasped the pistol on the floor next to her. She lay on her side, ankles crossed. Slater found himself entranced by how much hair she