Free NO SECRETS NO LIES (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 3) by K. S.

black man with a ‘baby mama’.” When Amir flinched, Alexis only looked
at him and said in an emotionless voice, “His words, not mine.”
     “Alexis…” Amir took a shaky breath, wary about what he
was hearing. 
     “You still don’t believe me, do you?” Alexis laughed
bitterly. “He asked me how I knew you.” She bit her bottom lip to stop it from
trembling, as affected today by Coach Brown's cruel words as she had been then.
“Do you know how cheap I felt when I told him I’d met you at spring break. He
actually laughed. He laughed and told me you met a lot of girls at spring break.”
     She remembered the look of disgust on the coach’s
face. “Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out some money. He threw it at
me and told me to get rid of it. Get rid of the baby and never contact you
again. I was mortified. I ran out of there and took the bus back to school,
determined to raise my baby on my own.”
     Amir turned away from the pain on her face. He linked
his fingers behind his neck and looked up at the ceiling. He believed her.
Coach Brown had made it his mission to get him all the way to the top. Amir had
always known Coach Brown was as addicted to the accolades and praise he
received as Amir’s coach as Amir was addicted to the game itself. But it didn’t
bother him, because he knew he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had without
Coach. But for him to do this, to play God and decide the fate of Amir, Alexis,
and that of their unborn child...
         Amir turned back to face her.
"Alexis, I didn’t know. I swear to God, I didn’t know. There’s no way I
would’ve let you raise our son alone.” He walked closer to her, softly touching
her arm. “Were you…was there anyone to help you, your parents, or…”
         Alexis shook her head. “No. My parents
died the year I entered college. After I graduated, I took an entry level
position and worked my way up to management and never looked back. I made sure
my son never wanted for anything.”
     When Amir heard her last statement, he closed his
eyes. While Lexie was working to give their child the best she could, he’d had
money to burn from his contract, endorsements, and bonuses.
     “Alexis, you must have recognized my face in the
media. Why didn’t you try to contact me again? You had to have known you
could've gotten money…” He realized how that sounded the moment the words were
out of his mouth. "Wait..."
         She jerked away from his touch. “I didn’t
want your money. I didn’t want anything to do with you at that point. My son
and I got along just fine.”
     Amir took a deep breath as he thought about all of the
years he’d missed out on with Michael. His first words, his first steps, his
first…everything. He looked at Alexis.
     “I’m sorry for what happened with Coach Brown. God
knows if he wasn’t dead…” Amir left the rest of the sentence hanging. “But now
that I know I have a son, I’m going to be in his life.” 
     Alexis saw the sincerity in his eyes, heard it in his
voice and nodded. “I understand, I just don’t think we should rush this. I
think we need to give him some time to get used to you before -”
     “I don’t think ten years is ‘rushing it.’” His voice
carried a touch of bitterness. “I’ve missed out on a decade of his life. I
don’t intend to miss out on a moment more. We’ll tell him I’m his
father…tonight.”
     Amir’s tone left no room for argument, but Alexis
realized he was right. Michael needed his father as much as Amir needed his
son. “Okay. We’ll tell him.”
     “Tonight, Alexis. As soon as we leave.”

Chapter 10
     
         Amir and Alexis rejoined the celebration
determined to put Michael's well-being over everything else. No matter what
personal problems or unresolved issues remained between them, Michael's
happiness came first. Alexis nervously bit her lip