NO SECRETS NO LIES (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 3) (13 page)

     After their meal arrived, they sat at the
small table by the window. Amir tried to make conversation, but Alexis only
gave him the briefest of answers and spent the majority of the time gazing out
the window at the bright lights of the city. He noticed she barely took two
bites of her dinner and was doing little more than rearranging the food around
on her plate. Finally, Amir put his fork down, wiped his mouth with the cloth
napkin and sat back and stared at her.

     ”Are you sure you don't want to go to the
casino or catch a show or something? I mean, we
are
in Vegas,” Amir
teased.

     Alexis looked at him with a start as if
realizing he might want to go out. ” I'm sorry. You must be bored. Uh, sure,
give me a few minutes to get ready and –”

     "Alexis, stop." He caught her
arm as she stood up. "We can stay in the room the whole time we're here
and I'll be good. I was just trying to find something to divert your attention
from whatever it is that's bothering you. Is it me?"

     Confusion filtered over Alexis' face.
"What do you mean?"

     "You've been preoccupied for the
last couple of days, and since we made it to Vegas, you seem even more
distant." When she started to deny his observations, Amir shook his head.
"Baby, I know you. What's goin' on? Talk to me. Please."

     Lexie dropped her eyes to her plate and
lifted a shoulder. "I'm just tired. A little overwhelmed maybe. A lot depends
on this meeting. I don't want to screw it up."

     "Come here." Amir tugged at
Alexis' hand until she got up and sat her down on his lap. "Since when
have you ever been nervous about anything that has to do with your job? You're
the most efficient and knowledgeable person I’ve ever met. You got this. Try
not to worry."

     Alexis hugged him around the neck and
curled her legs up so that she could snuggle closer. "I know. You're
right. After tomorrow, I'll be able to relax."

     Amir kissed her forehead then stood up
with her securely in his arms. "Tell you what. Let me worry about relaxing
you tonight. Tomorrow will take care of itself. That alright with
you?"    

     Alexis smiled when he laid her down on
the bed and started removing his clothes. "I think that might be just what
I need."

     The next morning, Alexis got off the elevator and
walked through the lobby of the hotel until she got to the restaurant. She
stood at the entrance, waiting to be seated. The design and décor was lovely, but
Alexis was too consumed with thoughts regarding her forthcoming appointment to
notice how opulent and elegant the five star restaurant was.

     The tall, blond hostess who looked like
she could pass for a model smiled at her and nodded. "Hello, my name is
Katie. How are you this morning? Will you be dining alone?"

     "I'm fine, thank you Katie. And no,
someone will be meeting me in a few minutes."

     "Very good. If you'll follow
me..."

     Alexis was unaware of the admiring looks
that tracked her on the way to her table. Her delicate bone structure and high
cheekbones were shown to their full advantage with her hair pulled back into a
low ponytail, and she'd kept her makeup to a minimum. The cobalt blue dress was
stylish and chic and fell over her curves lovingly to stop right above her
knee, and the high heeled pumps she wore added four extra inches to her height.
Her only jewelry was a pair of small, gold hooped earrings and a diamond cut
cross that hung from a thin chain around her neck. It had been a gift from her
mother and she cherished it above anything else she owned.

    Once she was seated, she glanced around then
nervously looked towards the front of the restaurant. Trying to find something
to occupy her mind, she perused the entrée’s on the menu, not that she’d be
able to eat anything today. She hadn’t been eating very much for the last week
or so. You’d think she would’ve lost a couple of pounds, but her skirt seemed
to be fitting a little snug around the waist...
     “Alexis...”
     She looked up quickly at the tall man standing by her
table. The eyes. She could never, ever forget the eyes. She put a trembling
hand over her mouth and stood up as tears rolled down her face.
     “Anthony??”
     Too choked up to formulate a reply, he stepped forward
and pulled her into his arms. Oblivious to everyone else in the room, they
hugged each other tightly, slowly rocking from side to side.

     Finally, Anthony moved back and framed
her face with his hands and just stared at her. “I can’t believe it. You’re
so…grown.” They both laughed at the statement.
     “So are you,” Lexie replied. “And so handsome.”
     Anthony smiled. “Come on, sit down.” He held the chair
out for her then quickly sat down next to her. They clasped each other’s hand tightly,
not wanting to let go.
      "I wasn’t sure you would even want to meet
me," Alexis said. "I didn’t want to just barge in and disrupt your
life.”
     Anthony shook his head fiercely. “Never that. You
don't know how much I've been looking forward to this day. And now that it's
here, I want you to tell me everything and don't leave out a single
detail."
     The two talked over breakfast for hours and tried to
get caught up on each other’s lives. Alexis showed him a picture of Michael,
proudly telling him how smart and talented he was. Anthony showed her a picture
of his wife. Alexis could tell he was deeply in love with her.
     “When can I meet her?”
     “Tomorrow. I’ll be over to pick you up in the morning
to bring you to my house. We’ll all spend the day together and of course you’ll
stay for dinner. In fact, I really wish you’d check out of this hotel and stay
with us.”
     “I don’t want to impose.”
      "It's no imposition, but it's your
decision. Just know the invitation stands. So, are you married?”
     Lexie shook her head. “No, I’ve never been married.
It’s a long story, but Michael's father and I have found each other again after
ten years, and…well...” Alexis blushed and ducked her head.
     “You love him don’t you?”
     Lexie nodded. “Very much. In fact, he came with me to
Las Vegas and I'd love for you to meet him."
     “Please. I’d like to meet the man responsible for this
glow you have about you."
     Alexis smiled and pulled out her phone to call Amir.
“Baby. Hi....yes...can you come downstairs to the restaurant? There's someone
I'd like you to meet. Okay...bye." She looked over at her Anthony with
bright eyes. “He’s on his way.”
     “Good. Lex, I am so happy that you’ve had a good life.
Not knowing was almost the worse part.”
     “I know. The same goes for me. I wondered if you were
happy, safe...”
     Anthony stared down at his plate for a moment. He
didn’t want to go into that now. Maybe later.
     Alexis looked over his shoulder and her eyes lit up.
Anthony smiled. Yeah, she was definitely in love. He stood up and turned
around, anxious to see who made her come alive just by walking into the room.
     But when he saw Lexie’s boyfriend, the smile slowly
disappeared from his face.

     Wait a minute.
Hell no
!
     Amir slowed down as he approached the table. He'd
eagerly been studying Alexis’ face to make sure she wasn’t upset, and was
relieved with what he saw. Then he saw the man standing beside her and stopped
in his tracks. Shock rendered him motionless.
     
What the hell??

    
 Amir had only seen him
once, but that was one time too many. He would never forget his face. The man’s
expression displayed the same blatant hostility now that it had then. The arrogant
tilt of his head was the same as well, and his light brown eyes clearly
conveyed the message that he
still
didn’t think Amir was shit.
     “Baby? Come here.” Alexis took a few steps towards
Amir and pulled him to the table. She was unaware of the tension that suddenly
filled the atmosphere. Excitement bubbled out of her as the two men whom she
loved most in the world met for the first time.
     “Amir Montgomery, I’d like you to meet my brother: Dr.
Marcus Anthony Bennett.”

Chapter
17

    
Time seemed
to stand still as Amir and Marcus stared at each other in the restaurant. Shock
gave way to disbelief and disbelief gave way to memories. Those memories
brought out the extreme and utter dislike which bordered on hatred each felt
for the other.
     “This is your boyfriend??!”
     “This is your brother??!”
     They both fired the questions to a stunned Alexis at
the same time they pointed at each other with deep scowls marring their
handsome faces.

      In confusion, Alexis looked from
one to the other with her mouth open.
     “Y-yes,” she said the word and nodded at the same time
- to both of them.
     Amir scowled at Marcus, looking him up and down with a
sneer that curled up the corner of his mouth. Marcus, seeing the look, narrowed
his eyes and took a step towards Amir.
     The hostility in the air finally hit Alexis. She
quickly stepped between the two men, putting a hand on each of their chests.
Although they dwarfed her in size, they immediately paused in their intended
plans of action which had probably been to beat the other to a bloody,
unrecognizable pulp.
     “Wait!” she told them, then lowered her voice as
noticed the curious faces in the restaurant staring at them. “What is going on
here? Do you two know each other?” She looked at them with incredulous eyes.

     Marcus answered her in a low, controlled
voice. “Something like that.”
     “But…I don’t understand. How?
How
do you know
each other?” She continued to look at them, still not trusting either enough to
move from between them. The silence between them stretched and lingered. 
Alexis raised her voice in frustration as neither of them answered her.
“Well?!”
     “Ummm...excuse me. Is there a problem?” Katie
nervously looked at the three of them.
     “No. I’m sorry. There’s no problem.” She turned to
Marcus and Amir. “Can we sit down please? I have no idea what’s going on here,
but we should be able to discuss whatever it is like the adults we are -
right?” she asked firmly. The moment she asked the question, Alexis felt like
retracting it because right now they were acting worse than kids!
     Each reluctantly looked at her then sat down. Katie
quietly walked away with a look of relief when she saw that everything seemed
to be under control.
     “Now, could one of you please…please…tell me what’s
going on?”
     Amir pulled his eyes away from Marcus and pinned
Alexis with a slightly accusing stare. “I thought you said you had a business
meeting."

     Guilt crossed Alexis' face as her gaze
fell away from Amir's. She had received the phone call she’d been praying for
several weeks ago. It had come from an agency she'd been working with that
helped children torn apart due to adoption find each other. They told her
they’d finally located the older brother she'd been separated from when she was
three years old. After their parents were killed in a car accident, the
siblings had eventually been put in foster homes. Not long after, Alexis was
adopted by her mom and dad, but she didn't find out the truth until after they
died. She'd been going through some legal documents of theirs and that's when
she found the adoption papers.  

     She reached for Amir’s hand. “I lied to
you when I told you this was a business trip. I should've been honest with you;
I just didn’t want to come by myself. You already know I'm adopted. I came here
specifically to meet my brother. There’s an agency I’ve been going through for
the last several years which specialize in reuniting family members separated
due to circumstances beyond their control called The Family Connect Agency.
After what seems like a lifetime, they finally found Anthony." Her eyes
silently pleaded for his understanding. "I hope you're not upset with
me."

     Amir's jaw tightened, but he couldn't be
mad at her for wanting to know who her family was, but…
why did it have to be
the son of a bitch who had married Aleesha??
He directed his attention back
to Marcus, who was glaring bullets at him.

     "I’ll tell you what’s going on. Your
long lost brother here slept with my ex-fiancée when she came to Las Vegas for
her bachelorette party.” Amir smirked. “He was one of the…strippers.”
     Alexis’ mouth fell open again as she turned to look at
Marcus. "Anthony? Is that true?"
     Marcus held Amir’s stare as Amir continued to look at
him, daring him to deny it. “Yes.”
     Satisfaction washed over him as Amir’s eyes darkened
with anger. He remembered the day Aleesha broke up with him. After she’d thrown
the ring he'd given her in his face, she’d casually told him she’d slept with
one of the strippers at her bachelorette party…and it had been the best sex
she’d ever had. Amir still winced at the memory.
     From that point on, his life consisted of partying,
women, and having a good time. Soul had tried to talk to him a couple of times,
but finally left him alone, figuring he’d straighten up when he was ready. The
day Alexis walked back into his life, he’d done just that.
     Alexis stared at Marcus as she began to put the entire
mess together. “So…the woman in the picture you showed me…your wife…she used to
be Amir’s fiancée?”
     Again, Marcus simply answered, “Yes.”
     Alexis massaged her throbbing temple, trying to
process the information. This was unbelievable, almost too crazy to be true.
What were the odds that the brother she’d been looking for had slept with and
then married Amir’s fiancée…
ex
-fiancée….which would make them
sister-in-laws. Alexis’ head throbbed even more at the thought.
     “But…" She paused, trying to gather her thoughts.