TROY STARED OUT THE WINDOW of the guard shack, waiting for the automated light to pass. Jackson’s visit that afternoon had convinced him that he couldn’t delay any longer. He had to fix the fence before anyone discovered that Trinity had escaped from his section.

He grabbed a sack filled with tools and a large gray blanket and slipped out the door. The light was almost halfway into the next section. No one would be looking his way. Of course, Titus, the Lead Producer to his left, probably wasn’t watching anyway. Titus had a tendency to have a little nip from the bottle on occasion and every day was an occasion for Titus. Drinking was frowned upon except for special events, but no one ever questioned who supplied the alcohol. He had. Titus operated a still in the brush near his fields. That itself wasn’t a huge issue. The problem was that Titus had a tendency to skim a little off the top of his crop yield to fill his moonshine orders. That was strictly prohibited. He snorted. For every rule that was strictly prohibited, he could name at least two Producers who were breaking it. The Almightys really should pay more attention or change their policy from strictly-prohibited to please-don’t.

He ducked behind the bush and dropped his bag and the blanket. He knelt by the fence, pulling out a trowel from the sack, and began to dig. When the hole was large enough, he set the trowel aside and took out a plank of wood. He slid it into the hole. He turned to grab the small hooks that he would use to fasten the chain link to the lumber when he caught a glimpse of the automated light coming from the right. He grabbed the blanket, covering himself and his tools and waited. Hopefully, if Hector, the Lead Producer working the section to his right, was following the light, he wouldn’t notice anything.

Hector was a good guy. One of the few kids who had accepted Troy before he’d filled out and learned to hide his more flamboyant tendencies. Unfortunately, Hector was a stickler for the rules and he doubted that the other Producer would keep quiet about this.

After several moments, he peeked out from under the blanket. The light was moving into Titus’s section. He shrugged the blanket off his shoulders and proceeded to affix the fence to the wood. When he finished, he began shoveling the dirt back into the hole. The entire process took a few trips under the blanket, but when he was done he stuffed everything back into his pack and headed toward the guard shack.

He was ready to sit back and relax. He might even take a small sip of the moonshine that Titus had given to him. He deserved it. He stepped through the door and stopped. Remy was not supposed to be here and yet, here he was sitting in the chair by the window.

“How could you?” Remy’s face was drawn and haggard.

His best bet was to pretend innocence until he knew exactly what Remy had witnessed. “How could I what?” He let the bag slip out of his hand and kicked it to the side as he shut the door. Now, he’d try and change the topic. “What are you doing here? I told you what happened with Bell. It’s not safe for us to be together right now.” It wasn’t a lie. Bell might be keeping an eye on him. Of course, if he were really worried about that he wouldn’t be creeping around in the dark filling in holes.

“How is Trinity going to get back inside?”

Gruntshit. “It isn’t what it looks like.” It was exactly what it looked like but he stalled for time, his mind spinning and coming up empty. He walked over to Remy.

“Are you telling me you didn’t fill in the hole that Trinity needs to get back inside the camp?” Remy crossed his arms over his large chest. “Millie was right. I should have never told you about Trinity leaving.”

He tipped his head, cracking his neck. So, it was going to be like that. “I had to, but don’t worry. If she comes back…”

“When she comes back.”

He gritted his teeth. Remy was a big oaf of a Producer, over nine feet tall with huge shoulders, but he had the heart and soul of a child. “When she comes back, I’ll get her inside. I promise.” He reached for Remy’s hand, but the other Producer snatched it away.

“How are you going to do that? What if you’re not on duty?”

He’d had it with Remy blaming him. “For once in your life, think!” He dropped on a nearby chair and leaned toward Remy, resting his hands on the other male’s legs. “She took advantage of us, of our friendship.”

“She wouldn’t do that,” said Remy.

“Then explain why she snuck out from my section while I was on duty.” He stood and began to pace. He had to calm down or Remy would side with her. “She was upset about Randy and wanted to get away. I understand that.” He stared at Remy. “But she put us in danger.”

“She didn’t do it to hurt us. She didn’t think. She’s just a kid.”

“She may not have meant to harm us, but she should have thought it through more carefully. She is not a child. She is of age to have children.” He wasn’t positive that the selfish brat cared about anyone but herself, but he wasn’t going to say that.

“Okay. She made a mistake, but you have to unfix the fence.” Remy’s eyes filled with tears. “She’s my little girl.”

“No, she’s Tim’s daughter. It’s a shame she isn’t your offspring. She’d be better off.” If Remy were her sire she wouldn’t be so different. He suppressed a shiver. House Servants gave him the creeps with the way they stared, unblinking and the way they moved. Even when Tim wasn’t sneaking into the encampment, he still almost slithered. It was like he couldn’t walk normally; he had to glide. Trinity moved like that when she wasn’t careful.

“But, I love her,” said Remy.

He crouched in front of Remy. “I have to protect us. You come first to me. Always.” He leaned forward to kiss him. He hadn’t wanted Remy to come by, but now that he was here, there was no sense in wasting the rest of the evening. That was another side effect of Trinity’s actions. She’d ruined his and Remy’s evenings together for an entire month. He was going to kill her if she ever came back.

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“She has to be able to come home.” Remy turned his head away from the kiss.

“She will. I’ll know when she returns.” Remy was being stubborn, but he knew the other Producer well enough. They would go no further until he reassured him.

“How?” Remy relaxed, kissing Troy’s neck.

That felt so good. He tipped his head back, giving Remy better access. “Jackson will find her and…”

Remy stood, breaking their contact. “You sent a Guard after her? That was your brilliant plan.”

He gritted his teeth. He knew better than to mention Jackson. It was going to be another long night. “Jackson owes me. He won’t go to Benedictine.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Trust me. What I have on Jackson will keep him loyal to me,” he said.

“You…you and all your secrets. You can’t control everything.” Remy started to cry. “She is coming back. Isn’t she?”

He sighed. He should have guessed. Remy was worried. He wrapped his arms around the other Producer. “I’m sure she’s fine.” He was pretty sure that she wasn’t.

“How…how can you say that?”

“I know you don’t like it, but Jackson is very good at his job. He’ll find her and bring her home.” Dead or alive, but he’d keep that part to himself.

“Really? You think so?”

“Yeah.” He patted Remy’s back.

“When did you send Jackson?”

“Not long ago.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Not if you considered time as a whole.

“How long ago is not long ago, and don’t you dare lie to me.” Remy pulled back.

“Yesterday, late afternoon.”

“She isn’t coming back, is she? That’s why you repaired the fence.” Remy’s eye’s filled with tears.

“I’m sorry, but…Jackson can’t find her.” He took Remy’s hand. He shouldn’t do it, but it pained him to see Remy so upset. False hope was comforting sometimes. “On the upside, if she were dead, she’d be easier to find. She may still be alive.” He wasn’t going to mention the river where her body could disappear forever.

“If she doesn’t come back, they’ll send out more Guards,” said Remy.

“That’s why I had to fix the fence. They can’t know she escaped from here.”

“I want you to be safe. Not involved in this.” Remy kissed his cheek.

“I’m going to arrange it so that you’re safe too. I promise.”

“How?” asked Remy, a spark of hope in his dark eyes.

That was a good question. Patching the fence was not going to be enough. If the Guards couldn’t catch her scent, they’d search the perimeter like Jackson had. If they didn’t find a hole, they’d look closer. It wouldn’t take them long to discover the fresh dug earth and repair that he’d made. He’d be in serious trouble for covering it up instead of reporting it. No, he was going to have to figure out something else.

The automated light approached. Hector’s section of the fence was closer to Trinity’s house than his portion. It would make sense that she’d escape near home and that was probably where they’d start the search. If he dug a hole in Hector’s area they wouldn’t even look in his. “I’m going to need some of her clothes. Something with her scent on it.”

“Why?”

“Please just trust me and do what I ask.” Remy would not want to know this.

Remy frowned, but nodded.

“I also need you to start spending your evenings with someone besides Millie. You need an alibi. I’ll talk to my brother and get him to round up some of his friends and host nightly card parties.” His brother would do it too. His brother benefited from his secrets almost as much as he did.

“What about Millie?”

He wanted to scream. He couldn’t protect everyone. Someone would pay for Trinity’s escape. “I’ll see what I can do, but this isn’t your fault. She isn’t even your real daughter.”

“It’s as much my fault as Millie’s.”

“No. She’s the one who breeds with a House Servant.”

“We don’t get to choose who we love,” said Remy.

“It is not the same thing as our feelings for each other. It isn’t. Millie could have mated with any male. She didn’t have to pick Tim.”

“Do you think this has been easy for her? She couldn’t help loving Tim any more than I can help loving you.”

He had to control his temper. Arguing with Remy never worked. He was going to have to approach this from another direction. “You’re right, but if Trinity doesn’t come back, someone will pay. I don’t believe that you both should suffer.” He held up his hand. “Wait. Hear me out.”

Remy nodded. He wanted to shout in triumph. At least the stubborn fool was listening.

“You are so good with Trinity. You were good with all the kids. Millie is the one who hasn’t conceived again. I know it’s not her fault, but it isn’t yours either.” He put his hand on Remy’s shoulder. “You are a great father and there are other kids in this camp who could use a dad.”

Remy crossed his arms over his chest. “Like who?”

His mind scrambled. He’d always considered the young females when trying to find another mate for Remy, but he should have considered the older ones. They were less enamored of the mating and birthing and more realistic about the toils of life. “Hester.”

“Hester has six kids,” said Remy.

“And another one on the way.”

“It was a real shame about her mate,” said Remy.

Yeah, a real shame that the idiot fell down the hill and broke his neck. “Yes, a terrible waste. She’s all alone now. She’ll be re-paired this year.”

Remy nodded, considering.

“It would be a tragedy if she were paired with someone who didn’t like other male’s offspring.” There were many male Producers who fell into that category.

“I’ve never understood that. Kids are great no matter who their parents are,” said Remy, shaking his head.

“Very few feel that way.” It was one of the things that he loved most about Remy. His life would have been very different if he’d had even one parent who had loved him even though he was different.

Remy’s silence encouraged him, but he had to move slowly. If he pushed too hard, Remy would balk. “I think I could get them to re-pair you with Hester.” Actually, this would be perfect. He wanted to grin, but fought the urge. Hester’s oldest son was breeding with Trunk’s assigned mate. Trunk was a huge brute of a Producer. He was the exception to the rule that Producers were passive creatures. Trunk would kill the boy for messing with his mate. Yes, Hester would keep their secret. Now, all he had to do was convince Remy. “Her kids need you.”

Remy scratched his head. “Trinity might come back.”

“Of course, but Millie will be retired this year.”

“Yeah. We’ve discussed it. She’s okay with me getting re-paired.”

Who cared if she was okay with it? He’d never understand Remy. “Great. I’ll talk to my brother. Every night, starting tomorrow, until either Trinity comes back or the others find out that she’s missing, you are to play cards at my brother’s house all evening long.”

“Okay,” sighed Remy.

Everything was working out better than he’d planned. He’d never even considered Hester before. Maybe, he should thank Trinity. He always performed better under stress.

“I’ll bring her pajamas. Millie hasn’t washed them,” said Remy.

“No. Leave them in her room, near the window so that I can grab them when I’m ready.” He needed as much of her scent on them as possible. Tomorrow, he’d talk to his brother and in the evening he would make a hole under Hector’s fence. The next night he’d start trying to catch Clarabelle mating with Randy as leverage to persuade Bell to help get Remy re-paired. Once that was all settled, he’d leave the scent trail from Trinity’s house to the hole in Hector’s fence line and report her missing to the Almightys.

He kissed Remy. Since the other Producer was already here, there was no point in wasting the night and he was definitely in the mood for company. Successful plotting always did that to him.