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There was screaming and laughter, and Ammo found himself smiling. “Sounds like they’re having a lot of fun.”

Zander grunted. “Yeah, it does. I still don’t think Keira should be outside on her own in her condition.”

He wasn’t so sure that Keira would like her pregnancy referred to as a condition. Not that Ammo could blame Zander. He was certain he would be the same way with Aimee.

They both snuck up quietly on the girls, watching them as they played with the mud. It was being flung back and forth, and his eyebrows rose as he took in the state of the three of them. Keira seemed to be the cleanest. Honey and Aimee weren’t really throwing mud at her, more just chucking it gently her way, which was probably good for Zander’s blood pressure.

Aimee giggled as she flung another mud patty at Honey. Of the three of them, only Honey had clocked Zander and Ammo watching them. The other two were completely oblivious, which was why they always needed somebody with them, watching over them.

He was going to have to scold her for leaving the bunker without telling someone, although Honey would give her life to protect Keira and Aimee, he was certain of that.

“What do the three of you think you’re doing,” Zander asked.

Keira gasped and nearly fell over as she turned. Zander leaped for her, grabbing hold and pulling her into his arms.

“Keira, you could have fallen over! What were you thinking? You shouldn’t be standing or playing with mud. It’s slippery! You shouldn’t even be outside.” Zander scowled down at her.

“I wouldn’t have fallen over if you hadn’t given me a hell of a fright. You could have given me a heart attack,” Keira told him.

“You’re having a heart attack?” Alarm filled Zander’s face. “Ammo, quick. Call for a helicopter. She’s having a heart attack.”

“I’m not having a heart attack, Zander,” Keira slapped his chest, leaving a big muddy handprint on his white T-shirt. “You nearly gave me a heart attack by frightening me. Have you ever heard of letting somebody know that you’re sneaking up on them?”

“I don’t think it can be classified as sneaking if you let someone know you’re doing it, Keira,” Honey said dryly.

Ammo turned his frown onto Aimee. Even though he wasn’t that upset, he did need to make it clear that she should have told Eli first before leaving the bunker. Miles didn’t count. But before he could say anything to her, a pile of mud landed right smack on his face.

There were a few beats of silence, then Aimee let out a nervous-sounding giggle.

“Wow! What a shot!” Honey cried. “Way to go, Aimee! You can be on my basketball team when we play.”

“Oh my God, I didn’t mean to do that!” Aimee cried.

Ammo wiped the mud off his face slowly, flinging it to the side.

Then he put his hands on his hips as he scowled down at Aimee.

She held her hands up high. She was covered head to toe in mud. Giggles escaped her as she moved slowly backward. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you in the face.”

Ammo raised an eyebrow. “But you meant to hit me, didn’t you, Little girl?”

“Eek,” she cried before turning on her heel and taking off into the forest.

“I’ll leave you to deal with that,” Zander said as he picked Keira up and marched back toward the bunker with her in his arms.

Ammo turned to look at Honey.

“I’m going to go shower. Have fun.” Honey skipped off. How she could skip in those boots, he had no idea. But she managed it.

Ammo started moving quietly through the woods. He wasn’t certain why she thought she’d be able to hide from him, but he easily picked up her trail. Honestly, a two-year-old would be able to follow the noise she was making. A herd of elephants would likely be quieter.

Aimee slid through the forest. This had seemed like a good idea when he’d started scowling at her. But now she remembered that she wasn’t actually wearing any shoes. Every time she stepped on a sharp rock it hurt.

Still, she was being remarkably quiet. She was very good at being stealthy. She moved through the trees like a ninja. Maybe Zander would pay her for her ninja skills.

Now that could be a good job for her!

She heard something behind her and decided to speed up, only she didn’t see the pointy rock in front of her and stepped right on top of it.