And Back Again

Chapter 19

The next day Zara meet with Nestor. He refused to come to her office, which she expected but part of her wanted to show off her gorgeous office and the grand building it was in. Instead, they met at a coffee shop not far from her work and, although she felt it was an overreaction, she lied to Bastian and Karen about where she was going.

"Hey," she smiled, joining him at the back table.

"Hey," he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Angel know about this?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Shouldn't he? If I was him," he said suggestively.

"I can handle Angel," she grumbled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, partners and all that shit," he said mockingly.

Zara glared at him. "What's up, man?"

"You know this girl?" Nestor asked, handing her the photo of Molly.

Zara hid her shock and nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, she was one of my students."

"She was texting me," he said angrily, poking the back of the photo in her hand. "This is the girl who was digging into what happened with us."

"I'll talk to her," Zara sighed. "I think she was looking for drama, gossip or something. She was always asking about me and Angel, all types of private stuff with me."

"Wait," he grabbed the picture. "You said she was a student?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"As far as I know she's still enrolled," Zara said with confusion.

"She doesn't look like a high school kid," he said suspiciously.

"Oh no," Zara laughed, "She's probably 17 or so."

Nestor's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. "Hold on," he said, pulling out his phone. Quickly, Nestor skimmed through the photos he'd pulled and showed Zara a few of them. "This look like a teenager?"

"Well, uh," Zara hesitated, "Not really. She looks like a sex worker, to be honest."

"I know," he nodded with a stern expression.

"You mind if I take this?" Zara asked, already slipping the photo into her purse.

"Yeah, sure," he shrugged. "What are you thinking?"

Zara shook her head. "Nothing. I just want to see if anyone who shouldn't recognize this face, does."

"Be careful," he grumbled. "Please, Zara."

"I'm fine, I'm much more capable than you realize."

"You weren't when we were together," he reminded her.

"I was a wreck, Nestor," she said defensively. "Angel, the baby, it was a really bad fucking time for me. I'm not that person anymore."

Nestor looked at her and slowly nodded. "Yeah, you know, I'm seeing that."

"Thank you," she reached across and held his hand. "It's nice having you in my corner, I appreciate your help and your concern."

"You in my corner?" He asked, holding on when she tried to take her hand back. "Can I trust you, Zara?"

"Yes," she said earnestly. "You can trust me, Nestor. I promise."

Nestor smiled a little and nodded. "Good. Let me know what you find out."

"I will," she laughed. "It'll be our own little chance to gossip."

—

The day went on as usual, almost boring in its simplicity, and before long four o'clock hit and she was out of the door. Once Zara got home she changed, poured herself a drink and sat staring at Molly's photo. Eventually, she started dinner but Molly was still on her mind.