Balotelli-Bale Series Book #4: THE OTHER MAN PART 1

Chapter 48: Sacrifices Part 1

"...when you love someone, even the biggest sacrifices
are small if it means saving them..."

Keira's POV
I'm freezing!

I'm still barefooted with muddy feet. My hair is beginning to dry, my clothes not so much and I'm freezing!

I haven't said a word since he arrested me. I haven't said a word. I know better than to talk and risk getting emotional. But deep inside, I'm in turmoil! I'm falling apart! For the last several hours, they have left me unattended. No one has come in to ask me anything! I know that Detective Rowland is stalling. He wants to fluster me so that I spill my guts! I'm nervous. I am sleepy but every time I close my eyes, they shoot wide open with panic!

I stared at the door that opened and a woman in a pinstripe suit walked in. She looks like a lawyer. I want her to be a lawyer even if I have not gotten a chance to ask for one. Detective Rowland is purposely avoiding me to make sure I don't ask for legal representation.

"Keira Ballard, right?" She asked me.

"Y-yes!" I'm trembling from the cold. "Are y-you a lawyer?"

"Yes. I'm a lawyer. My name is Rose Anderson." She tilted her head. "Dear, you're trembling."

"I'm cold." I answered.

She took off her jacket. "Get out of that sweater!"

She realized I'm cuffed. She looked at the blinking camera I haven't looked at once. "Really? Hand cuffs? Is she going to break out of your concrete wall? Grow up Rowland!"

A few seconds after her soliloquy with the camera, an officer came in and uncuffed me.

"Why is she barefooted and soaked? We're you waterboarding her?"

"We don't torture people!" The officer answered.

"I'll bring this up in court. Get out." She helped me remove my sweater. I only have a bra underneath. It's wet too. She held her coat spread out so that I can take it off. I put on her coat with her standing in front of me. "I'll get you dry clothes."

"Thank you." I offered her a small smile. "I didn't ask for you."

"Theo Sinclair hired me an hour ago." Bless Theo! He's so thoughtful! "He saw the news and he called me and asked that I come here and represent you."

"I'm on the news?"

"Yes. It's not looking good. The affair already earned you a bad public opinion. This doesn't help your reputation."

"You know about the affair!"

"I'm sorry to say this but who in New York doesn't? Nickolas Bale is a billionaire. That's a big deal. Did you get a chance to ask for a lawyer?"

"They arrested me and left me here for hours." My voice is hoarse from the cold.

"Phone call?"

"None. They haven't spoken to me."

"I'm sorry. The system is broken. Sometimes these detectives play god when they think that they will win. I have known Rowland for years and I know this is how he plays. He lets those he has arrested confess from frustration. That is not going to happen to you. Keira, you need to be honest with me about everything. I mean absolutely everything. Whatever you say to me is private. I won't repeat it even to Theo Sinclair. So tell me. Did you kill Jason Burke?"

I looked at the camera. "Can they hear us?"

"No. They are not allowed to listen in."

"When I was a little girl, about six years old, I found a bird that had been attacked by a cat. It was my cat. She still had some feathers in her mouth. I took the bird to my daddy. It wasn't dead. But it didn't look so good. I was crying so much. So he called the vet to make me feel better. The vet repeated what he said. He told me the bird wasn't going to make it and by not killing it we are simply prolonging it's suffering. I couldn't kill it and I did not watch when my father did. I was sad that whole week. I didn't even want to see my cat. I have never owned a cat after that. If I could not stomach the death of a bird, how can I take the life of a man?" I asked her with tears spilling down my cheeks. "Jason was my husband. He was a brutal man. He beat me up. He assaulted me repeatedly. He insulted me. He threatened me. Eventually he almost killed me but not once did I ever put my hands on him in retaliation. I did not wish him dead. I did not do this Miss Anderson. I promise."