Dad turns his confused glare at him. “What did you call her?”
“Dad…” I trail off not sure if this is the right time to tell him there’s a chance, albeit small, I might be Lennon instead of London.
“You still think she’s Lennon, don’t you?” Dad finally asks staring Dash down with a menacing expression. His eyes are wide, and nostrils flared.
“Don’t you think I’d know who my own daughter is?”
“Would you? They’ve been pretending to be one another for years when they needed to cover for the other,” Dash informs him.
Dad’s skin looks ashen again at the thought as he turns his troubled gaze back to me.
Dash continues and points to the GTO. “You saw what I just saw. Could London drive like that?”
Dad shakes his head and releases me. “No. I…I don’t know.”
He covers his mouth as he studies me, considering the possibility.
Dash turns his attention to me and hands me my phone, meaning he had to go to Lennon’s house and couldn’t find me there. I can only imagine the things he wants to say to me right now. “I’m so angry at you, Valkyrie. But tell us, what did you remember?”
“I remembered driving the GTO. Would London drive it? Or was it only Lennon?” I ask them.
“Honey, I’m sure Lennon would’ve let you…London drive. She tried to teach you to drive a manual transmission for years but you, London, would make a stick shift jump and grind the gears. It wasn’t smooth like what you just did on this track.”
He shakes his head and continues, “But now I’m not sure of anything. Maybe London just pretended to be bad at driving one as part of y’all covering for each other like you said.”
I want to say more, but for now, the notes and threats I found will have to wait. As for what happened at Lennon’s house before I ended up here, I’ll tell Dash once we go back there.
“Dad, don’t upset Mom with this. Not until we know…who I am and what’s going on. Just be careful. I need to get the GTO back to the house.”
He hugs me and points at Dash. “You better protect her with your life. Do you understand me? If you can’t, I’m your first call.”
Dash stares at me. “I swear on the breath in my lungs, sir.”
I walk back to the GTO, get in, and start it back up. I drive back around front and find Dash climbing into his truck instead of the car we were in earlier. I stop beside him and our gazes lock. I rev the engine just a little, and the corner of his lips lift into a barely noticeable smirk before he starts his engine and revs it to match mine. He winks and waits on me to leave first.
I know I’ll have to tell him about the text and the notes I discovered, because I know I can’t solve this alone. Each of us seem to be carrying a different piece of this puzzle surrounding me and my sister.
Even as this mysterious danger lurks out of sight, but close by, I feel safe knowing Dash has my back. But I also feel some guilt and confusion, because the more I’m near him, the more it becomes very clear that I’m in love with him. And accepting my feelings means one of two difficult truths. It proves I’m Lennon and I feel this strongly because I already loved him, and my heart remembers what my mind can’t. But if I’m London instead, I’ve fallen for my sister’s boyfriend.
Honestly, either scenario is painful to consider, and both seem unforgivable in their own way.
13
After I park the GTO back in the garage, I enter Lennon’s house through the mudroom and take a steadying breath to calm my racing heart.
I hear Dash drop his keys on the counter in the kitchen. The pain from my driving adventure is still aching up and down my left side, but I push through it and walk into the kitchen with a slight limp to see Dash standing there.
He stays quiet while he studies me and I’m not sure what he’s thinking. He swallows hard and takes a step toward me with wide eyes. “Lennon.”
My eyes water and my vision blurs. He tries to come closer, but I blink causing the tears to fall down my cheeks. I hold up a hand and shake my head. As much as I need him to hold me, I’m scared to let him right now.
“We don’t know that for sure, Dash. There’s a lot of things my sister and I kept hidden from everyone else. One of those best-kept secrets may have been London’s ability to drive like Lennon can,” I say trying to remain neutral and logical about my identity.
He shakes his head. “No, there’s a difference. I know Lennon, and I know what she looks like behind the wheel. You’re Lennon. You’re my Valkyrie. But if you need more time to believe it, I’ll wait and believe it enough for the both of us.”
This time I don’t stop him; his fingers dive into my hair, and he tilts my face up toward his as he searches my eyes. He kisses me with every breath in his lungs, almost as if he’s trying to tell me how much he’s missed me. It’s raw and full of emotion. It’s familiar and true. It’s his heart holding on to mine tight enough to know there’s no letting go now.
“Dash,” I whimper as I pull back just enough to see his eyes. My body is on fire, both from the pain I caused earlier and the desire he pulls from my soul. “Take me upstairs, now.”
