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That statement wasn’t any more reassuring than Logan’s dismissal had been. Slade stayed silent, though. Clearly Logan still ruled the roost here, and his friends would fall in line.
And here he was, when I actually needed him for something not at all personal, something he’d done for who knew how many other people, and he was still pushing me away.
My frustration overflowed. “Are you kidding me?” I snapped at Logan, sharply enough that his eyes widened. “You’ll help out strangers all across campus, but you’ll turn away your own stepsister?”
I should have expected him to meet my frustration with his own snark. Logan wasn’t the type to take blows in stride.
“I help people who need to be helped,” he shot back. “Your mom’s got enough money to buy you a new car without batting an eyelash, so it’s hardly a big deal, is it?”
I glowered at him. “My mom works hard, but she’s notrich, as you should know, considering you lived in her house. And I wouldn’t ask her for the money she worked hard to earn anyway, not when it’d mean she couldn’t do things she deserves for herself.”
“Then that’s your choice. You’re a capable woman, aren’t you? You can survive without a car.”
I didn’t want to admit the other aspect of the situation. Just thinking about what else I’d lost brought a burn into the back of my eyes, and showing distress in front of Logan would bewayworse than snapping at him.
But he was stepping toward me as if to usher me out of the office, and nothing else I’d said had made a difference. It was the last card I could play. Even if he’d probably call it stupid and send me packing just the same.
I had to try. For Dad.
“It’s not just the car,” I said, my voice strained. “I had something that belonged to my dad in the glove compartment. I can’t just buy a replacement for that.”
I’d braced myself again for whatever cutting response I’d get. Instead, Logan froze. Dexter leaned forward, his gaze fixing on me for a few seconds this time before darting away, as if the admission had interested him too. Slade rubbed his jaw with a casual cock of his head, but something about his reaction niggled at me too.
Why would anything to do with my dad matter to those two, who’d never even talked to me about him the way Logan had? I wasn’t sure they even knew my dad was dead and not just divorced from my mom. Of course, Logan could have mentioned it at some point.
Some of the hostility had faded from Logan’s expression and voice. Now he was only grimly serious. “Something that belonged to your dad? What, exactly?”
“A black lacquer trinket box,” I said, showing the size of it, about eight inches long and half as wide, with my hands. “He used to keep it on his desk. I stored my insurance papers and stuff in it. It’s not worth much to anyone but me, but it’s the only thing of his that I brought with me to campus.”
Logan nodded slowly, and a tentative sense of relief tickled through me. He might not have been willing to give me the time of day over my stolen car, but he understood how much the loss of a parent hurt. His mom had died when he was just a couple of years older than I’d been when Dad had passed.
He hadn’t really wanted to help me, though. For a second, I considered just walking away rather than having to spend another second in his presence. Did I really want to put myself through that potential agony?
But the thought of the box and of the boy I’d once considered a friend held me in place.
Maybe if we worked together on this case, I’d have the chance to figure out what the hell was up with him. Anyway, whether he liked it or not, he owed me for all the crap he’d put me through. I wasn’t letting him off the hook, not when something this important to me was at stake.
When he didn’t say anything, my momentary relief drained away. I folded my arms over my chest. “So, are you going to work your Vigil magic or what? If you’ve got some other objection, let’s hear it.”
His lips curved into the slightest smirk. “Someone’s feisty today.”
“I just want an answer. I’m not going to beg you.”
“No? Not even for this oh-so-special box?”
Was he just needling me every way he could? Suddenly I felt exhausted. I wasn’t going to plead, and it was starting to seem like he intended to do nothing more than drag out this encounter as long as he could to punish me for daring to ask, only to kick me aside yet again. Maybe Camp-Po or the city police department would be good enough after all.
“Fine,” I said, annoyed by the roughness that’d crept into my voice. “Obviously you don’t give a shit, so I’ll just go.”
I turned my back to the guys and reached for the door. As my fingers closed around the doorknob, Logan’s voice rang out, taut with reluctance but determined all the same.
“Wait. We’ll take the case. We’ll find your car.”
