The Forgiven Read online

  Naomi Cross knew evil. She’d felt its presence when her daughter disappeared, years ago, and she felt it stalking her now. But this time, danger drove her into the strong, sheltering arms of the one man who could help her—Alex DeWitt. The man whose cherished daughter might be Naomi’s child. He was handsome as sin, and just as irresistible. And when he heard her desperate claim, Alex shocked Naomi with a wild proposal of his own. Naomi needed protection; Alex needed a wife. Together they could uncover the dark secrets of the past—and start the long journey home to paradise.

  Previously Published.

  Also By Amanda Stevens:

  THE GRAVEYARD QUEEN SERIES

  THE RESTORER

  THE KINGDOM

  THE PROPHET

  THE VISITOR

  MIRA

  THE DOLLMAKER

  THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS

  THE WHISPERING ROOM

  HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

  THE LITTLEST WITNESS

  SECRET ADMIRER

  FORBIDDEN LOVER

  THE BODYGUARD’S ASSIGNMENT

  NIGHTIME GUARDIAN

  THE INNOCENT

  THE TEMPTED

  THE FORGIVEN

  SECRET SANCTUARY

  CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART

  HIS MYSTERIOUS WAYS

  SILENT STORM

  SECRET PASSAGE

  UNAUTHORIZED PASSION

  INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE

  MATTERS OF SEDUCTION

  GOING TO EXTREMES

  THE EDGE OF ETERNITY

  SECRETS OF HIS OWN

  DOUBLE LIFE

  TEXAS RANSOM

  SHOWDOWN IN WEST TEXAS

  MAGNUM FORCE MAN

  The Forgiven

  Amanda Stevens

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  PROLOGUE

  Eden, Mississippi

  “...National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for the northeastern portion of Jefferson County. A funnel cloud was reported on the ground near Eden at approximately 8:37 this evening. If you are in the designated area, you are urged to take cover immediately. Repeat. A tornado warning has been issued—”

  Eighteen-year-old Naomi Cross strained to hear the weather advisory over the static on her car radio. A shudder of fear ripped through her as a siren blasted a warning in the distance. But she kept on driving. Storm or no storm, she had to get to the hospital.

  As she cast an uneasy glance toward the sky, she felt a tightening in her abdomen and braced herself, trying to will away the intense pain she knew would follow. She was still a good twenty minutes from the hospital, and the contractions were hitting her hard and fast. Too fast. The twins were coming early. The doctor had said that might happen. But tonight of all nights!

  Her mother and sister had driven down to Jackson for a basketball tournament and wouldn’t be back until after midnight. Naomi had been home alone as she’d listened to the increasingly severe weather reports on the news. Then the wind had started to blow, and the power went out. By the time the first contraction hit, the phone lines were down. Naomi, trying desperately not to panic, had surveyed her options—try to wait out the storm, or drive herself to the hospital.

  Not much of a choice, considering Dr. Simms had warned her that multiple births were often a tricky business. Naomi didn’t dare risk her babies’ health by going through labor all alone, but now, as she plunged headlong into the storm, she had to wonder if she’d made the right decision. She could feel the gusts of wind tugging at her car, and it was all she could do to keep the vehicle on the road.

  Gripping the steering wheel, she peered straight ahead. A wicker rocking chair, swept from someone’s front porch, tumbled along the shoulder of the road, and moments later, parts of the front porch landed with a thud on the highway directly in front of her.

  Heart in her throat, she braked and swerved, then sat for a moment, her path blocked by the debris. Shoving the gearshift into Park, she got out of the car. The wind tore at her hair and clothing, almost knocking her off her feet. Battling against the gale force, she fought her way to the front of the car, then lifted the heavy two-by-fours and dragged them from the road. As she turned back to the car, a contraction bent her double.

  Leaning heavily against the front fender of the car, Naomi struggled to control the pain. Somewhere off to her right, she heard the loud crack of an uprooting tree, and as she turned toward the sound, her breath caught in her throat.

  For what seemed like an eternity, she stared, paralyzed, at the funnel cloud moving toward her. She’d never seen anything like it! The size. The sheer force. The deafening roar as the twister whirled across a field, claiming everything in its path.

  The roof of an old barn peeled away as cleanly as the lid on a tin can, and the walls crumpled. Fence posts were sucked from the ground and tossed like giant lawn darts fifty yards away. And still the storm came.

  Get back in the car! a voice screamed inside Naomi. Move!

  The wind almost whipped the car door from its hinges as she climbed back inside. Using both hands, she finally managed to slam the door, and then, with one last glance at the tornado, moving with frightening speed across the open ground, she put the car in gear and floored the accelerator. The car shot forward, almost slamming into a sheet of tin roofing that spun crazily in the wind. At the last moment, the metal lifted, just missing the top of Naomi’s car, and swirled away.

  On the radio, the announcer’s excited voice, intermixed with the static, drew icy fingers of dread down Naomi’s back.

  “If you are...path of...storm...seek shelter immediately! Repeat...shelter immediately—”

  Naomi glanced around frantically. She was in the middle of nowhere. Still miles from town. No houses in sight. No overpasses. On the flat highway, she was helpless.

  She glanced at the field to her right. Oh, God. Oh, dear God.

  The storm was so close she could feel the pressure building inside the car...could feel the automobile being pulled off the road...

  She clutched the steering wheel as she pressed the accelerator to the floor. Faster, she urged the car. Come on!

  Please. Oh, please.

  Never, ever try to outrun a tornado, she’d always been told. Now she knew why. Her car was no match for such power. She was going to be swept off the road, swirled up into the vortex of the storm.

  My babies...

  Faster. Come on. Faster. Please. Please...

  Her knuckles ached from gripping the wheel. She felt the familiar tightening in her stomach that signaled another contraction. No. Oh, no...

  She gasped out loud from the pain, but somehow she managed to hold on. Somehow she managed to keep control of the car.

  She glanced out the window. The twister was right there. Right on her. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God!

  Something hit the back window, and the glass shattered into a million pieces. The din from the storm was thunderous, the suction incredible. Naomi clung to the steering wheel for dear life. The car swayed in the wind. Debris whirled thick outside her windows.

  Glancing in her rearview mirror, she saw the funnel pass across the highway behind her. But for a moment, as the sound dissipated and the pressure inside the car lessened, Naomi still couldn’t breathe. She still couldn’t comprehend that she had outrun a tornado, that she might yet make it to the hospital to have her babies.
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  Then, sobbing in relief, she said a silent prayer as she raced toward Eden.

  By the time she reached town, the streets resembled a war zone, but she didn’t stop to assess the damage. The contractions were getting closer with each passing moment, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hang on much longer.

  As she pulled into the emergency area of the tiny hospital, she all but tumbled from the car. Clutching her stomach, she lurched inside, seeking help, but the emergency room was in chaos. Bodies lay everywhere, some moving, some not. And the wails—of terror, of grief, of disbelief—were the sounds of a nightmare come to life.

  “Please,” Naomi said to one of the harried nurses. “Help me.”

  The woman turned, as if to brush Naomi aside, but then her gaze dropped and her eyes widened. “Get a gurney over her, stat!” she shouted.

  It was only then that Naomi looked down to see blood pooling at her feet.

  She was dimly aware of being lifted, of being rushed down a long corridor with the echo of screams in her ears. One of the nurses said in a hushed tone, “We’ve got another mother prepped, but we still haven’t heard from Dr. Simms.”

  “How’s she doing?” someone else asked worriedly.

  “Not good. We’re having trouble finding the baby’s heartbeat—”

  Naomi tried to lift her head. “My babies—”

  “Shush,” the first nurse soothed. “Not you. You’re doing fine. Just try to relax.”

  And then another voice, from a distance, shouted, “Oh, my God, there’s a second one!”

  Yes, Naomi thought in a haze of pain. I’m having twins.

  “Another tornado!” the voice screamed.

  And then the walls began to tremble.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Present day...

  Naomi Cross was no stranger to tragedy. Fifteen years ago, she’d regained consciousness two days after giving birth to twin daughters only to be told that one of her babies had died just hours after delivery.

  Naomi had been devastated, but even in the throes of deep despair, a part of her had realized that she was luckier than some. Whole families had been wiped out in the two killer tornadoes that ripped through Eden, Mississippi, on that fateful night, and countless homes were destroyed. At least Naomi still had a beautiful, healthy baby girl she named Sadie, and a mother and sister who loved her unconditionally, who were there to help her through those first traumatic days when her grief had seemed boundless.

  Then, five years later, when little Sadie had vanished from the playground at Fairhaven Academy, the second loss had all but destroyed Naomi. She’d sunk into a deep depression, but somehow she’d fought her way out of the darkness. In time, she’d founded the Children’s Rescue Network—where she remained director—in Sadie’s memory. For almost a decade, she’d worked tirelessly on behalf of other missing children and their families.

  Over the years, Naomi had come to realize that her tragedies were not without meaning. As a result of her struggles, she’d grown strong and independent, oftentimes fearless when the cause was worthy. But even she felt overwhelmed by the events that had unfolded in the past several days.

  The remains of a child had been unearthed down in Grover County, near the Louisiana border, and the bones were being studied by a forensics anthropologist at Louisiana State University. If tests proved that the remains were Sadie’s, then Naomi’s ten-year quest would finally be over. She would finally be able to bring her daughter back home.

  But as one search ended, another was just beginning.

  “I wish I could be of more help,” Tess Campbell fretted as she sat across her kitchen table from Naomi. Tess was a lovely young woman with a pale, fragile complexion and luminous hazel eyes. She tucked an errant curl behind her ear as she sighed. “But I’ve already told you everything I remember.”

  Naomi nodded. “I know. But Mr. Donnelly has a few questions, if you don’t mind.” She gestured toward the middle-aged man seated at her left. Michael Donnelly was an investigator from Jackson who Naomi had hired after Tess’s devastating revelation. He had the reputation of being one of the sharpest private detectives in Mississippi, specializing in missing persons, but he hardly looked the part. Naomi supposed the best word to describe him was ordinary. Gray eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses, slightly crooked nose, a receding hairline he didn’t bother trying to disguise. He wore a wedding ring which, for some reason, had surprised Naomi when she’d first met him

  “I’ll answer any questions I can,” Tess said earnestly. “It’s the least I can do considering everything you’ve done for me.”

  Naomi waved off her friend’s gratitude. Just over a month ago, she and Tess Campbell had been hardly more than acquaintances, although they’d both lived in Eden for most of their lives. But after Tess’s daughter, Emily, had been abducted from the same school playground ten years to the day that Sadie had disappeared, the two of them had grown close, drawn to each other through their mutual pain, grief and fear.

  Thankfully, Tess’s daughter had been found unharmed, but in rescuing Emily, Tess had uncovered a bizarre story that had the power to change Naomi’s life forever.

  The nerves in her stomach tightened as she leaned forward slightly. “Why don’t you start by telling him exactly what you told me?” she urged Tess.

  Tess’s hands trembled as she laced her fingers together on the table. “I still have a hard time talking about Emily’s abduction. I still dream about it. Sometimes I still think about what could have happened.” She turned away, her eyes filling with tears.

  The man standing behind her put his hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her. Tall, handsome, with an elegant and self-confident bearing that money and good breeding seemed to engender, Jared Spencer had remained silent during the interview, but his presence was undeniable, as was his devotion to Tess.

  Naomi reached across the table and placed her hand over Tess’s. “Believe me, I understand how you feel. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t so important.”

  Tess nodded. “I know that. I just hope—” She broke off, biting her lip, but Naomi knew what she was thinking. I just hope you aren’t getting your hopes up for nothing.

  So do I, Naomi thought with a little quiver of fear. She was stronger now. She’d fought her demons and won. But to battle back from yet another crushing disappointment...

  She shuddered at the prospect.

  Beside her, Michael Donnelly cut through the sentiment. “Mrs. Campbell, can you tell me again what Willa Banks told you the night you found out she’d taken your daughter?”

  Although she was familiar with the story by now, Naomi still could hardly believe what had happened. Willa Banks, the school nurse at Fairhaven Academy, had been the mastermind behind little Emily’s disappearance. She’d kept the child hidden away from the outside world for over a month, had witnessed Tess’s pain day in and day out, and said nothing.

  Who would have thought that such a nice, seemingly uncomplicated woman could have harbored such a twisted mind? But her intent hadn’t been evil, Naomi reminded herself. Willa Banks had just been horribly confused. Guilt could do that.

  “When I got to her house, I saw a little girl standing at an upstairs window. I knew it was Emily, but when I went inside, Willa insisted I must have seen Sadie.” Tess’s gaze darted to Naomi.

  “She said that?” Naomi asked softly. “She said the child was Sadie?”

  Tess nodded. “I knew it was impossible. Sadie has been missing for ten years. Wherever she is, she’s fifteen years old.”

  Present tense, Naomi thought gratefully. So many people referred to missing children in the past tense without even realizing it. But Tess, like Naomi, knew better. She knew how much it hurt those left behind.

  Naomi thought of the remains that had been found in Grover County, and she closed her eyes as a fresh wave of pain washed over her. Sadie. My poor little Sadie...

  “Go on,” Michael Donnelly said to Tess.

  “When I star
ted up the stairs to find Emily, Willa said, ‘I was at the hospital the night Naomi’s other baby got taken. I can’t let you take Sadie from her.’ Those were her exact words,” Tess said with a shudder. “I’ll never forget them.”

  The night Naomi’s other baby got taken. For a moment, Naomi was transported back to that night. Back to the terror and confusion inside the hospital. Back to the blood pooling at her feet. She remembered little after that until she’d awakened two days later in another hospital. Her mother and sister had been standing at her bedside, and she’d known, just from looking at their faces, that something was wrong. Her mother had told her about the baby, and then she’d drawn Naomi into her arms, holding her tight.

  “I know how you must feel, Naomi. But you can’t let yourself fall to pieces. You still have another baby who needs you, and considering what you went through to bring her into this world, her birth is a miracle. She’s strong and healthy and so beautiful. Just wait until you see her.”

  But it had been almost a week before Naomi could bring herself to hold Sadie in her arms. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her. She did, with all her heart. But she ached for her other baby, little Sela, named for an aunt Naomi had adored. She wouldn’t let herself hold Sadie, wouldn’t let herself fall in love with her sweet baby girl, because she was so terrified something would happen to her, too.

  It was only after the guilt finally subsided that Naomi had come to understand her reticence. In keeping her daughter at arm’s length those first few days, in denying herself that all-too-fleeting bonding time, Naomi had been punishing herself. But she’d also deprived Sadie of something precious, and that memory, along with the guilt, had come back to haunt her in the days and nights following Sadie’s abduction.

  Tess said gently, “Naomi? Are you okay?”

  Naomi snapped her attention back to the present. “Yes, of course. Please, go on.”

  “There’s not a lot more to tell, I’m afraid. Willa said she’d never forgiven herself for her part in taking your baby.”

  “Did Willa Banks give you any indication who helped her take the baby? And why?” Donnelly asked.