Chapter 28
Tavryn
For how difficult it was to get to Dhamoirs, abducting Remington is fairly straightforward.
It helps that we arrived at the planet during its brief summer months, meaning the weather outside is actually bearable for non-native beings.
All we had to do was wait for Remington to wander off on his own.
With my ship’s cloaking mechanisms engaged, we swept down and captured him with minimal effort.
There’s only one problem.
Remington was definitely not happy to see us.
He was shocked to see Banjo at first, but that shock quickly turned to anger when he learned we’re taking him back to Earth. For the last several hours, he’s been locked in the cargo hold. The walls aren’t thick enough to muffle his yelling—or the sound of him pounding on the door.
“Banjo! Let me out! You have to take me back!” Remington screams. Banjo looks between me and the door, unsure.
“Tav, babe, maybe we should hear ‘im out,” Banjo suggests, fiddling with one of the buttons on his jacket. Although I’ve mostly ignored the fit Remington is throwing, Banjo hasn’t done the same. “He’s madder than a wet hen.”
“He’ll get over it,” I promise, turning in my captain’s chair to look at him as he leans against the doorway.
He doesn’t look comforted by my words. “Listen, darling, I go through this every time. You get the human. They yell and scream and complain. After a few days, it wears off, and they’re happy to be taken back home. ”
I stand, closing the distance between us. My tail curls around Banjo’s thigh, giving it a little squeeze. “Remington will be the same. All he needs is time.”
Banjo chews on his bottom lip. I reach up and tug it free. I hate seeing him nervous. He cares so much about doing the right thing. Too much.
I don’t care what the right thing is, and I definitely don’t care what Remington wants. All I care about is getting that money and making Banjo mine forever.
“If you want a distraction, I have a few ideas,” I hum, my tail slipping down the back of Banjo’s pants. He lets out a little squeak, cheeks flushing and eyes widening.
“Tav!” He laughs as he knocks my tail away. I pout up at him. “Babe, we can’t be foolin’ around when Remington is pitchin’ a fit in the next room.”
I glance towards the closed and locked door. “He’ll tire himself out eventually,” I remind him, my pout morphing into a smirk. “He’ll be asleep before you know it.”
Banjo considers it for longer than I expected. “Well, I guess it don’t matter none if he’s asleep,” he finally agrees, wrapping his arms loosely around my waist. “Plus, how am I supposed to say no to that cute face?” He kisses the tip of my nose, laughing as it wrinkles.
Banjo glances back at the door as the pounding intensifies. “Are you sure we’re doin’ the right thing, babe?” he asks, looking down at me again. I nod.
“Definitely. He’ll be thanking us by the time we get back to Earth.” And if he doesn’t? Too bad.
Remington is going back to Earth, whether he likes it or not.
It’s been two days. Two entire days of listening to Remington throw tantrum after tantrum. I don’t think he’s slept at all, which means none of us have slept.
Banjo is distraught. He insists we should talk to Remington, and I insist we shouldn’t. I don’t want to hear his story. If we hear it, Banjo will want to take him back to Dhamoirs. Since we’re not taking him back, I don’t see the point.
“What are you doing?”
I look up at Banjo’s question, surprised he’s speaking to me again. I’m not sure what’s worse, the silence or the fact he’s stopped touching me. When the causal touches ended, I knew he was really upset with me.
“Finally dealing with our problem,” I tell him as I go back to digging through one of the storage containers concealed in the floor. I pull out a coil of rope and a mostly clean cloth.
“What’s that for?” Banjo asks, frowning down at the two items. I toss the coil of rope over my shoulder before grabbing one of my knives.
“Don’t worry about it.” I test the edge of the blade against the pad of my thumb to make sure it’s still sharp. I don’t plan on using it, but it’s always good to be prepared. “Go in the cockpit and talk to Stells. I’ll be back soon.”
Banjo stands there as I stride toward the door of the cargo hold. Remington is pounding on it, as usual. That won’t last much longer.
“Tav?” I don’t turn around when Banjo calls for me. “Tav! What’re you fixin’ to do with that?”
“Nothing,” I reply. I don’t look back at him.
If I do, I’ll stop, and if I stop, I’ll give in.
I can’t take this much longer. The strain in our relationship has reached nearly unbearable levels.
“Don’t worry about it. Just go in the cockpit and—” I stop mid-sentence when Banjo grabs me by the arm.
I glare at him, but he doesn’t let me go.
“Tavryn.” I hate the sound of my full name coming from him. It only emphasizes the gulf between us. “Tell me what you’re doin’.” When I bristle at the command, he amends it by adding, “Please, babe. I’m worried.”
My tail twitches. I don’t want to lie to him, but I also don’t want to tell him the truth. He won’t like the truth. “I’m dealing with our problem,” I finally say, nodding towards the door. “I won’t hurt him. Promise.” Banjo glances down at the knife strapped to my thigh. “That’s just a precaution.”
“So you’re just gon’ what?” Banjo asks, studying the coil of rope. “Keep ‘im tied up ‘til we get to Earth? How much longer we got, anyway?”
“Two months.” Not that I would keep Remington tied up the entire time. The hope is he would calm down within the next couple of days, or even weeks, and we could let him free again.
“You’re gon’ tie ‘im up for two months?!” The noise from the other room immediately quiets. Remington doesn’t have a translator, but Banjo is speaking his native language. Remington can definitely hear and understand his side of the conversation.
“Please,” Remington calls from the other side of the door, his voice pleading. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but please. I just want to go home.”
“Tell him that we’re taking him home,” I growl. Banjo shakes his head.
“No, I ain’t tellin’ him that, ‘cause it ain’t true!” Banjo pushes past me to get to the door. “Enough is enough, Tav. Let’s just talk to him and figure out what’s going on.”
The anger in his voice stokes the flames of my own rage.
Why won’t he just listen to me? I’m doing this for us!
My tail shoots out, wrapping around Banjo’s waist to pull him back right before he reaches the door.
I wrap my free arm around his other side to secure my hold.
Banjo struggles against me, pushing at me in an attempt to loosen my grip.
“Let me go!” Banjo shrieks, his movements getting wilder the tighter I hold him. Gone are the days when my touch would relax him. Now he’s acting as if he can't get away from me fast enough.
He has to understand. I have to make him understand.
“Behave, or I’ll bind and gag you too.”
My entire body freezes when the words finally register. Banjo stills as well, his hands resting on top of mine. Our fingers are tangled together from when he was trying to pry me away from him. It’s so far removed from the way he normally holds my hand it makes me a little dizzy.
What am I doing, besides making things worse? Do I really want my last days with Banjo to be like this?
I see how this will play out. I force Banjo to give in and take Remington home. We spend two entire months growing further and further apart. By the time we get back to Earth and I get the money I need to secure our future, he’s changed his mind about staying. He doesn’t want this.
He doesn’t want me.
I jerk back. Banjo turns to face me, his cheeks and eyes red. I stare at him, taking in this beautiful man I have reduced to an angry, crying mess. He opens his mouth to speak, but I flee to the cockpit before he can. Whatever Banjo was going to say, I can’t hear it. Not right now.
I collapse in my chair as the door slides shut, rubbing my eyes as everything comes crashing down around me.
It’s over. I know I’ve crossed a line that can’t be uncrossed.
It doesn’t matter that I was motivated by the right reasons.
I’m not even sure I was motivated by the right reasons.
All I know is that very soon, I’m going to be alone. Again.
It had been bad enough the first time, when Rourverace betrayed me.
I’d thought then that I understood what it meant to be completely broken.
How I felt then has nothing on this. I know now that I never loved Rourverace, no matter what I thought.
Whatever had been between the two of us, it wasn’t real.
But me and Banjo? That’s definitely real.
I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.
I’m still sitting hunched in the same position when Banjo comes into the room. I don’t look up at him. Not even as he slowly turns my chair around. Not even when he places his hands on my knees, right beside where my elbows are resting.
I can’t see that hurt look on his face anymore. I’ll give in, and I can’t do that just yet.
If we don’t take Remington back, that’s it.
There are no other options. Banjo has to abandon his family or return to Earth.
Emotion wells up in me, threatening to break out in a sob.
I swallow in an attempt to bury it again.
Breaking down in front of Banjo won’t help anything.
It’ll only make me look even more weak and pitiful.
“Tav.” Banjo’s voice is soft, pleading. He wraps his hands around my forearms, gently trying to pull my hands away from my face. I don’t let him. “Tav, please look at me. You’re scarin’ me, babe.”