I grab my GTO keys and head for my garage. “I’m going to go to Tyler Motorsports.”
Hendrix glances up from where he’d been sitting on my couch looking at his phone. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? What about this mystery stalker?”
“The longer I hide, the more time he has to strike again. I don’t plan on letting it happen,” I say.
“So what? You’re telling the world Lennon Tyler is back, then?” he asks as he stands and closes the distance between us.
I shake my head. “No. I can’t do that yet. Everyone needs to believe I’m London for now.”
Something in his gaze flickers at the mention of her name. “If you’re at the garage surrounded by your team and your car, won’t your identity start to shine through? It seems like you’re taking a big risk by being there. Unless…” He falls silent as he thinks.
I blink a few times giving nothing away.
“Unless you’re trying to draw him out by making it look like London is stepping into your shoes,” he finishes once it clicks.
I lift my chin as I stare at him preparing for him to protest.
“Lennon. It could be really dangerous. I don’t know about this.”
“Doing nothing could be just as dangerous, Hendrix. I can’t sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop. This nightmare needs to end…for all of us. And if I don’t do something, he’ll keep drawing out his cruel taunts.”
Hendrix’s brows knit together. “What taunts, Lennon?”
I’ve said too much. The note was nothing more than scraps on the floor when he walked in on me this morning in the bathroom. And I’ve told no one about the texts I get.
My nostrils flare as I prepare to lie. It’s a tell London and I both had.
“Nothing. It’s just torture knowing he’s out there. There is one way London and I were opposites.”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“That’s easy. London was always reserved and safe. I’m competitive and driven. I need to win. This isn’t just another race for prizes and earning titles. This is something I need to win in order to take my life back. I need to be the one holding the steering wheel when this is all said and done. He might end up taking me down, but you can bet your ass I’ll go down on my own terms and it’ll be taking him down with me.”
“Lennon. No one is going down but him. Do you hear me?” he asks as he takes my face in his hands.
I reach up and wrap my fingers around his arms. “I can’t tell you it won’t happen, Hendrix. Because I’ll do whatever it takes to make him pay for what he’s done. I hope to still be standing in the aftermath, but I can’t promise you that I will.”
His gaze searches mine until he draws me closer. His lips are so close to mine, I can feel his breath against them. “I won’t lose you. So, there is no way in hell you’ll be fighting this alone.”
“I guess you better get ready to ride shotgun, then, Doc.”
He cracks a grin at my nickname for him and shakes his head before releasing me.
When I park my car,I stare up at Tyler Motorsports before getting out. Hendrix squeezes my hand. “I got you, Lennon.”
I silently squeeze his fingers back before facing the music of this crazy tactic to draw out a dangerous stalker from whatever pit of hell he sprung from.
Taking a deep breath, I put one foot in front of the other as I notice Dad’s truck in the lot. I know he won’t be expectingme to be here, and I hope he can keep my secret when seeing me for the first time in front of other people since learning the bittersweet truth. People tend to say more than what they can vocalize with the emotions that play out on their faces than what they mean to. I know he wouldn’t intentionally out me, but this is not a normal secret.
Is bittersweet even the right term for this situation? I’m sure there are other words, but even with the complexity of the emotions we’re going through, it’s the only term I can say out loud which even scrapes the tip of this tumultuous iceberg.
I enter the lobby with Hendrix trailing not very far behind. The picture of me and London greets me from its usual spot just as it always has. The last time I studied it, I wasn’t sure which twin was me. Now I know. The weight of knowing is so heavy, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stand on my own.
So much can change in the span of a single heartbeat. I’m living proof of it.
I turn and see my dad standing in his office watching me intently through the open door as if the angels hand-picked me from heaven. I deserve no such reverence. Before I can think too much about it, I put my finger to my lips quickly, signaling him to stay quiet. He gives the slightest nod as he crosses his arms over his chest while never taking his gaze off me, almost as if I’ll disappear if he looks away.
I wander back out into the garage, studying all the vehicles in the bays. I mentally take note of everyone and everything onsite, but nothing seems out of place. And why would it? I may be barking up the wrong tree by starting here. But all this mess began with me and it will end with me if it’s the last thing I do.
