A/N: Starting a new story off a little slow… I need to finish up 'Pyramid' and work in my T/N story. Hope you guys enjoy!
Kayleah Williams, best-selling author, and ex-FBI Agent is a star in her own right, but on the inside is fighting her on demons. Falling in love is the last item on her list, but sometimes love doesn't wait for permission.
It Only Took A Minute
Chapter One: New Girl
I looked in my car mirror. A hair was out of place. I tried my bet to get it back into place. I was so frustrated. I took my two fingers and I just pulled it out. There was no time for this. I gave my face one last look. I was pleased with myself. I got out of my car and straightened out the leg of my pants. I shirt was perfect and my jacket fit nicely. I figured I was ready. As I walked the heels of my shoes clicked on the ground. I loved that sound; it made me feel powerful. I smiled to myself feeling confidant and ready to take on my newest task. A whole new job. I took a deep breath and stopped at the door. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed a number. I let it ring until it went to voicemail.
"Hey mom it's me. I just wanted to remind you I start at my new job tonight. Call me if you need anything. Just know if I am working it might take me a bit to get back to you. Ok… love you." I said before I ended the call. I placed my phone into my purse and walked through the front doors of the Las Vegas Police Department.
I flashed my laminated badge at the front desk and walked back into the lab. I was so nervous inside, but on the outside I was calm and collected. I walked into a small conference room. There was a small group of people sitting around the table. All the heads at the table turned to me. Standing at the end of the table was a man with white hair and glasses. He gave me a smile.
"Yes she is here. Get in here." He said to me. He motioned for me to fully enter the room. I walked in and took a seat. "Everyone this is the newest member of our little family. This is Kayleah Williams. She is joining us from the FBI."
"FBI. You gave up a job of the FBI for us?" asked a woman with shoulder length brown hair. She looked taken aback.
"Yes I gave up the FBI for the best lab in the country." I said in a matter-of-factly tone. I hated with people questioned me.
"I read your book." Said another female voice. I saw a girl with long blonde hair giving me a smile.
"A book?" the brunette questioned with a laugh.
"Yes a book. New York Times Best Seller." I replied simply.
Suddenly there was the sound of a cell phone beeping the man with white hair looked down at his. It then beeped again. He then looked up at all of us in the room. I stood there waiting for instructions.
"Alright." He started. "There is a triple homicide in Seven Hills. Finn and Greg come with me. Kayleah you started on the right night. There is also a child abduction. So Nick, Sara, and Morgan are with Kayleah who will be in charge on this one."
"In charge?" the brunette then questioned appalled. "She just got here!"
"Trust me she will blow you away." He said. "Kayleah come with me for a moment." I followed the white haired man out of the room and into an office. "Don't let Sara scare you."
"She doesn't scare me." I stated simply. I kind of found it funny that he assumed she scared me.
"Well either way I am proud to have you as apart of our team." He said to me. I looked down at the nameplate on his desk. One thing I was terrible at was names. D.B. Russell it read. I had to remember that.
"I'm happy to be here." I answered truthfully.
"Well we all better get going." Russell said. I nodded before I turned and left the office.
I walked up the hall looking for the others who were supposed to work with me. I could hear voices coming from what looked to be the locker room. I slowed down and stood there listening to them. It was very obvious that they were talking about me. I hated people talking about me behind my back. I held my breath a little afraid that they would know I was near.
"Why did he put new girl in charge?" the brunette's voice asked. I now knew she was Sara and I had the joy of working with her tonight.
"Because she is good at what she does." Came the voice of the blonde with long hair.
"But we are all good at what we do. We've found plenty of missing children. I don't see why she is so special… because she wrote some book." Sara said. My heart was beating fast.
"Just give her a chance." Came a male voice with a southern accent. "Russell trusts her judgment and we should trust his."
"Maybe I should write a book. Maybe he can trust me more then." Sara said sarcastically. I was officially done listening. I quickly made my way into the room my heels clicking with me. As I walked I pulled a copy of my book from my purse.
"How about you read a book before you judge it by its cover." I said straight to Sara's face as I tossed my book at her. "I'm here because I am good at what I do. I am the leading investigator of child abductions in this country. Want to know why? Read my fucking book. Until then I am ready to go because every second we waste is time that a child could be spending living life." I spat. I then quickly turned and left the room.
As I walked down the hall a single tear escaped my eye. I quickly wiped it away. Nobody was going to see me cry. I didn't allow that. I needed to be strong. I walked outside into the cool night air. I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes for a second, I just needed a second. This was going to be harder than I thought, but I was here for a reason and I needed to fight and claw my way through as I've always done. I got here being strong and not by letting what anyone thought of me matter to me. I knew who I was and I knew what I had accomplished and that is all that mattered to me in the end not what some bitch in badly fit clothes thought.
We had made it to the house of the missing little girl. I sat on the couch with her dad. He and his wife had split the previous year and he was convinced his ex had something to do with his daughter missing. I excused myself and made my way upstairs to the little girl's bedroom. I stopped at the door. The male voice from earlier who I learned to be Nick was processing the room. He seemed nice enough and it didn't hurt that he was pretty cute. He looked up and gave me a smile before walking in my direction.
"Find anything?" I asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary." He said.
"Alright the dad is convinced the mom had something to do with it. PD is putting out a broadcast on the mom." I said as I looked around the pink bedroom. I remember my room as a kid being this shade of pink. Nick started back into the room. "Hey thanks for sticking up for me earlier." He turned back to me.
"No problem. You don't seem that bad." He said with a smile. I felt my heart skip. I shook the feeling away. I was not here for any of that. I simply gave him a smile before rushing away.
It was 6am. I sat rubbing my temple as I starred down at the photos that were taken at the dad's house. Nothing seemed to be making sense to me. I felt like I had lost my mojo. I knew what I was doing I was so good at this. As each minute passed I was getting more and more afraid of the outcome. I let out a sigh. I was so sleepy and had a huge headache. I looked up from the photos and grabbed my cup of coffee. I took a few sips of the cold coffee.
"How's the case?" came Russell's voice. I looked up to see him in the doorway.
"Not going good. The dad is convinced it was the mom. We can't find her anywhere. For all I know Dina Valentine does indeed have her daughter." I said before taking another sip of my cold coffee.
"Did you say Dina Valentine?" he asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"She is one of he vics in my triple." He said looking at me.
"Wait you've got the mom in the morgue?" I asked dumbfounded.
"Yep her along with her boyfriend Vince Wade and his brother Doug." He said as he sat a folder down on the table in front of me. I opened the folder and looked down at the photos. I couldn't believe this. Then in one of the photos I noticed something.
"I've seen photos at the house of the dad wearing that hat right there." I said pointing to a hat on the floor next to the mom's body. "Did you collect the hat?"
"Yes ma'am." He answered.
"Check it for DNA. It has to be the dad's hat." I said at once. "That means if he could have killed them… he has his daughter. Dude played me!"
"Alright I will call Brass." Russell said as he pulled out his phone. This dad had me convinced that his ex must have had something to do with it, but his house lacked so much evidence. I was now fuming angry.
"Hey what's up?" came Nick's voice.
"We've got nothing." Sara's voice then came.
"Because the dad played us." I said at once. "Russell's vics are the mom, her boyfriend, and his brother. Roland Valentine has his daughter."
It was now about 10am. I sat alone in a bar. I took a sip of my Vodka Cranberry. I was so disappointed in myself. I had sat for 2 hours listening to that dad spill this sad story when all along he knew where his daughter was. He had killed his ex, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend's brother and was planning to head to Mexico with his daughter. The police found him heading towards Mexico with his daughter. There was a standoff on the highway. The dad killed his daughter before turning the gun on himself. I had failed at my job. I had been got. I felt like the biggest failure. I had screwed up on my first night. I felt like I wasn't going to be able to show my face there again. Had this move been a big mistake? As I sat contemplating my mistakes in life I heard the sound of a throat clearing. I looked up to see Nick standing at my table. He sat in the chair next to mine with a beer in his hand.
"Didn't want you to drink alone." He said to me.
"I needed this so bad." I said looking down at my glass. "How'd you find me?"
"I heard you were asking where to find a good drink and I knew everyone would direct you here." He said taking a sip of his beer.
"I can't believe I screwed up so bad." I said with a sigh.
"You didn't screw up." He said. I looked at him.
"If I hadn't believed the dad and fell for his pathetic story that little girl would still be alive. I was so convinced. I hate myself for that." I said shaking my head.
"It happens to the best of us." He said as he placed his hand on my arm. I felt a shiver go down my spine and my breath was trapped in my throat. I looked down and focused on controlling my breathing. I looked back up at him.
"Not to me." I said at once.
"Because you are the best." He said.
"Yes." I answered. There was a moment of silence as we just sat there sipping our drinks.
"I flipped through your book a little bit." He said to me. I looked back up at him. "I'm sorry about your brother."
"He is why I do this." I said truthfully. "I do this so other families don't have to go through what my family did. I was 10 years old when my brother was taken. I live that day every single day of my life. Nobody should live that day…ever."
"I understand." He said simply as he finished his beer and sat the bottle on the table. He took my hand into his. "But don't beat yourself up. You did and you seem to do your best." I gave him a weak smile. Right now it seemed like my best simply wasn't enough.
"Thanks." I said quietly. I knew I had at least made a friend in him. I took down the rest of my drink and went to stand. "I should get home. I'm exhausted."
"Wait a little longer. We will sober up and I will drive you." He said to me. I simply nodded. "Where do you live?"
"901 Rose Drive." I said.
"I live on Rose Drive too." He said at once. "You are in that yellow house with the pink roses."
"That's me." I said.
"I was walking my dog and saw the moving trucks there last week." he said.
"Well hello neighbor." I said.
"Welcome to the neighborhood." He said to me. I smiled at him. I realized his hand was still on mine. I slipped my hand away. He seemed great and all, but I wasn't here for romance. I was here for something much bigger than that and my judgment didn't need to be clouded with lust. I needed to stay focused on my goals and there was no room for him in this picture.
A/N: You guys like? BTW new chapter of 'Pyramid' up tomorrow.