Page 219 of Daddy’s Fortitude

“Are you sure?” Keira said doubtfully. “What if you step on a slug?”

Eww.

Aimee stared down at the mud. It looked like so much fun. But she really didn’t want to step on a slug.

“All you slugs go away!” Honey said as she scooped up some mud and plopped in on the ground. “Or I’m going to go get a grenade and kaboom!” Honey slapped her hands together, making both Aimee and Keira jump.

“All right, let’s avoid blowing up the forest,” Keira told Honey. “Sure you don’t want me to get my boots?”

Yeah, no way did she want Keira trudging back to her bedroom to grab her boots. She’d puffed just walking here.

“No, no, I’m not scared of a little slug.”

Yeah, more like grossed out. But she’d just try not to think about it. She rolled up the bottom of her jeans, then pressed her foot into the mud.

That felt so weird. And gross.

Maybe this wasn’t for her.

“You know, I think I might just sit and watch—ooh!” she cried out as something wet landed on her back.

Turning, she saw Honey gather up another handful of mud.

“Did you just throw mud at me?” she asked the other woman.

Honey glanced up with a grin. “Mud fight!”

Oh. It. Was. On.

60

Ammo drove his truck into the hidden garage. He and Zander had managed to come back early from their job and he couldn’t wait to see his girl. He’d missed her a lot. He’d felt bad having to leave her so soon after they’d arrived at the compound. But she’d seemed to have settled in well. It didn’t appear like she was missing much about living in Greasy Knob, other than Kirsten. But her friend was making plans to come and see her soon. Even Kevin had settled in well. They’d bought him a large cage and set it up in the living room of their apartment.

He and Zander got out and walked through the hallway into the bunker. Immediately he moved into the bedroom, but she wasn’t there.

He checked in on Kevin, finding him sitting happily in one corner of his cage. But there was no Aimee. Perhaps she was in the music room. He headed down that way. Ammo loved listening to her play the flute and knew that she was trying to learn the piano as well.

He now had a few days off and he wanted to spend some time with his girl alone. Maybe have some Daddy-Little Aimee time. Oh, and he also owed her a punishment for the way she’d snuck up on the gunman with that plank of wood instead of hiding like she should have. He hadn’t taken care of that yet, since there had been so much else going on. Webb getting hurt, the drive here, getting her settled in. And then he’d had to go on this job with Zander.

Now that he had a few days off, he could figure out some more things that she needed, stuff for her play area, as well as clothes. She desperately needed more clothes.

Hmm, she wasn’t in the music room either. On his way out, he met Zander, who was frowning as he stomped along.

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Where’s Keira?”

“The two of them are outside playing in the mud,” Zander replied.

“They’re outside on their own?”

“Honey’s with them.” Yeah, that didn’t fill him with a lot of confidence.

“Why isn’t Eli out there with them?”

“He didn’t know that they’d left,” Zander replied. “They told Miles.”

That explained it. Miles was more likely to join them than stop them.

They headed outside and could hear them before they saw them.