The Forgiven

by Amanda Stevens

  * * *

  HE TOOK HER TO LUNCH at the Palm Court Restaurant on Chartres. Taryn had begged off the celebration, insisting that she had a math test that afternoon she couldn’t miss. Alex had been on the verge of insisting that she come with them, but Foley had stepped in and offered to drive her to school. “You two lovebirds want to be alone anyway,” he said with a wink.

  So Naomi and Alex had headed off to the restaurant alone, and once they were ensconced in a cozy alcove that looked out on the restaurant’s famous fountain, he ordered champagne. Naomi sipped hers slowly as she studied the menu, trying like crazy to avoid eye contact with Alex. She felt like a teenager again. She felt the way she had after her first time with Clay Willis, when they’d hurriedly dressed and then hadn’t known what to say to each other for the rest of the night.

  “Naomi.”

  A shiver slipped up her spine at the way Alex said her name. He wasn’t Clay Willis. Far from it. “Yes?”

  “You’re not eating your lunch.”

  “I suppose I’m a little nervous,” she admitted.

  “No need to be nervous now. The deed’s done.”

  Not quite, she thought. “Marriage is a big step, Alex. No matter the reason.”

  He smiled suddenly, surprising Naomi. “You know, I believe that’s the first time you’ve called me by my first name.”

  Naomi blushed. “I couldn’t very well keep calling you Mr. DeWitt, could I?”

  “No, I suppose not.” He glanced at her barely touched plate. “Do you want me to order you something else?”

  “No, the food is delicious. The restaurant is beautiful. Everything is perfect. Thank you for going to so much trouble.”

  “This was your first wedding,” he said. “I know it’s probably not the way you imagined it would be, but...I wanted to make it special for you.”

  Naomi’s eyes glistened with sudden tears. “It is. And the fact that Taryn came—”

  When she broke off, Alex’s gaze on her deepened. “You love her very much, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even without the DNA test.”

  “I don’t need any test to prove she’s my daughter.”

  Alex drew a long breath. “Naomi—”

  Their waiter came by then to present the check, and Naomi never knew what Alex had meant to say. She excused herself to freshen up, and once in the ladies’ room, she sat down at the mirror and stared at her pale reflection. The same reflection that had stared back at her this morning, only that woman had been Naomi Cross. Now she was Mrs. Alex DeWitt.

  Naomi began to tremble uncontrollably.

  When the door opened, she hastily pulled a tube of lipstick from her bag and pretended to freshen up.

  Instead of going to one of the stalls, the woman came over and sat down beside Naomi. Their gazes met briefly in the mirror before she pulled out her own lipstick and began to expertly reapply it.

  She was an older woman, late fifties, but still very attractive, with blond hair and vivid blue eyes. She wore a navy suit and the most exquisite gold jewelry Naomi had ever seen.

  “You don’t know who I am, do you?” she asked.

  Naomi glanced at her in surprise. “No. Should I?”

  “I’m Gwen Bellamy. I saw you come in with Alex, and I couldn’t resist having a word with you.”

  Naomi remembered the threat Joseph Bellamy had made the other day, and she stared at the woman in trepidation.

  “You look like a deer caught in the headlights,” Gwen said with an airy laugh. “Don’t look so frightened. I don’t bite.”

  Good to know, Naomi thought.

  “It might surprise you to learn that I’m on your side in all this.”

  “How do you even know who I am?” Naomi asked in confusion.

  Gwen made a production of fluffing her blond hair. “Don’t be ridiculous. My husband has had you thoroughly checked out, and when he becomes preoccupied with a woman as young and as lovely as you, you can bet I have her checked out as well.”

  “Mrs. Bellamy—”

  “Gwen.”

  Naomi shrugged helplessly. “What do you want?”

  The pleasant expression disappeared from Gwen Bellamy’s attractive face, replaced in an instant by a look of cold calculation. “Taryn has been telling Joseph every move you and Alex make. He knows that the two of you have plotted this quickie marriage because you think that together you’ll be able to thwart his efforts to get custody. But you won’t stop him. Not that way.”

  Naomi stared at her in shock. “What do you mean?”

  Gwen Bellamy turned on the stool and faced Naomi, her expression hard and brittle beneath the expertly applied cosmetics. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I despised Aubree. I hated everything about her. She was just a little girl when Joseph and I married, but even then she was a manipulative, selfish little witch who tried to destroy anything and everyone who crossed her path. She maligned me to Joseph every chance she got, and he always took her side over mine. I was glad when she grew up. Glad when she moved out and took Louise with her. I couldn’t stand either one them. They were always plotting behind my back, always figuring new ways to torment me. I thought things would get better after they left.” Her mouth tightened, showing her age. “But Joseph couldn’t let her go.”

  “What are you saying?” Naomi asked almost fearfully.

  Gwen’s gaze met hers, then flickered away. “He adored her. He would have given her the world on a silver platter, but she cared nothing for him. She used him like she used everyone else, and that only made him cling all the harder to the glorified image he had of her. To the dreams he had for her. The only thing Aubree ever cared about was her daughter.” She paused, her eyes going very dark and very cold. “That’s why I want you to take that away from her.”

  Naomi gasped. “Aubree is dead, Mrs. Bellamy.”

  She swung around to the mirror, staring at her own reflection. “Not to Joseph. He sees her in Taryn. He’ll never be free of her while Taryn is still alive.”

  Naomi’s blood went cold.

  Gwen Bellamy’s hand crept to her throat. “If Taryn is your daughter, then claim her legally. Do it now. It’s the only way to stop Joseph. Get her out of New Orleans, do you understand? Alex should never have brought her back here. It was bound to stir memories—”

  “What memories?” When the woman remained silent, Naomi said, “Memories of the night Aubree was murdered?”

  Gwen’s gaze met hers in the mirror. “If Taryn is your daughter, then you have to get her out of New Orleans. The sooner the better. And if she really is Aubree’s daughter—” the blue eyes closed briefly “—then God help her.”

  * * *

  THE HOUSE ON OCTAVIA STREET was silent when Naomi and Alex arrived after lunch. “I’ve given Louise the weekend off so we have the place to ourselves,” he explained as he tossed his keys into a crystal bowl that sat on a carved oak table in the foyer.

  Naomi cleared her throat. “What about Taryn? Won’t she be home from school soon?”

  “She’s spending tonight and tomorrow night with a friend.”

  “Do you think that wise?” Naomi asked in alarm. After her conversation with Gwen Bellamy, she didn’t want to let Taryn out of her sight.

  “Taryn’s supposed to be grounded, but I decided to make an exception just this once. I thought it might be easier if you and I had some time to...get used to things. I know the girl’s parents. She’ll be okay. Besides. You can’t keep a teenager locked in her room, Naomi.”

  He was probably right, and Naomi appreciated his thoughtfulness, but she couldn’t get Gwen’s warning out of her head. She went into the living room and stood gazing around at the room, her home now. When Alex came up beside her, she was acutely aware of his presence.

  He was very tall and very masculine, and he made her want things she’d long ago given up wanting.

  Naomi wished suddenly that they were a normal bride and groom, with not just the evening
to look forward to, but the rest of their lives. Their marriage, however, was far from normal, and the events that had led up to it were even more extraordinary.

  “What kind of relationship did Aubree have with her father?” she asked quietly.

  Beside her, Alex stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

  She turned to face him. “I saw Gwen Bellamy in the ladies’ room at the restaurant today.”

  “So that’s what’s bothering you. I knew it was something. What did she say to you?”

  Naomi tucked her hair behind her ears. “She said that if Taryn really is my daughter, I should get her out of New Orleans. The sooner the better. And I think she has a point.”

  Alex’s brow furrowed. “Taryn is legally my daughter. You can’t just waltz off with her.”

  “I realize that. But I’m becoming more and more convinced that the reason she has suppressed memories is because she saw something the night Aubree died. I think coming back to New Orleans has triggered something for her. You said she’s undergone a drastic change. Maybe that’s why. Maybe it’s the reason she’s become so obsessed with finding Aubree’s killer. But if she starts asking the wrong questions...if she starts to remember...”

  Alex took her arms. “You’re forgetting something, Naomi. Taryn wasn’t in the house that night. She and Louise didn’t come back from the beach until the next day.”

  “So Louise says.”

  “Why would she lie?”

  Naomi shrugged. “I don’t know. But there’s something...odd about that woman.”

  “You can’t accuse someone of murder because they’re odd,” Alex said grimly.

  “I’m not accusing her of murder,” Naomi defended. “From what you’ve told me, she and Aubree were very close. But maybe she’s protecting someone.”

  “Who?”

  Naomi moistened her lips. “Someone she felt as much loyalty to as she did to Aubree.”

  He gazed down at her in astonishment. “You mean Joseph? He was crazy about Aubree. He would never have hurt her.”

  “People do a lot of sick things in the name of love,” she said softly. “He put Aubree on a pedestal. He had this golden image of her. What if she did something...what if he found out something that destroyed that image? That threatened to destroy everything he cared about?”

  “But murder?” Alex’s hands dropped from her arms. He looked suddenly stunned.

  “Maybe that’s why he tried so hard to pin it on you.”

  A look of rage flashed across Alex’s features. He turned and strode from the room. After a moment, Naomi hurried to follow him. He was standing in his study, phone to his ear as he paced back and forth. “No, no, that’s okay. I don’t need to speak with her. I just wanted to make sure she’s okay.” He listened for a moment, then said, “Look, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep a close eye on Taryn. I know the girls were talking about going to a movie or something, but maybe they could just rent some videos. I’ll explain everything when I see you on Sunday.”

  He hung up and glanced at Naomi. “Taryn’s fine. I don’t think we need to worry about her tonight. I know this family. I trust them. They’ll take good care of her.”

  Naomi wanted to believe him, but she was still worried. “Everything’s connected,” she said. “The hospital in Eden. Aubree’s murder. Sadie’s disappearance. I know they’re all connected, and that’s why someone sent Ray Beauchamp to kill me.”

  Alex came around his desk to stand in front of her. “I don’t know how they could be,” he said grimly, “but I’m afraid you may be right.”

  * * *

  ALEX showed Naomi around the house that afternoon. It was a lovely home, full of beautiful furnishings and interesting objects of art that Alex and Taryn had collected in their travels overseas. But Naomi couldn’t relax and enjoy the tour. Nor could she appreciate the anticipation of sharing such a comfortable home with Alex and Taryn. None of them would have any peace until they found out the truth about Taryn’s birth and Aubree’s death.

  Except for Louise’s quarters, which were off the kitchen in the back, the other bedrooms were upstairs. The master suite was at the far end of the hall, secluded from the others by an archway that led to a private corridor. The suite was large and airy, done mostly in bold autumn shades of gold, brown and hunter-green. A masculine room that made Naomi shiver in awareness.

  Her suitcases were on the bed. Alex had had someone from the hotel deliver them earlier, along with her Jeep.

  “You probably want to get unpacked and changed,” he said, backing toward the door. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

  Naomi nodded, trying to keep her gaze from drifting to the king-size bed.

  “You can rest for a while if you want,” he said. “We’re not on a timetable. We can go out to dinner whenever you want.”

  “All right.”

  Alone to unpack, Naomi felt oddly self-conscious, putting her things in dresser drawers that had been cleared out especially for her, and a closet that had been rearranged to accommodate her meager wardrobe.

  Alex’s presence was everywhere—his shaving supplies in the bathroom, his cologne on the dresser. Manly things that did very feminine things to her insides.

  Once everything was put away, Naomi glanced around, unsure what to do next. She could go downstairs and find Alex, but he had seemed in a hurry to leave her, as if he needed some time to himself. Maybe that was what they both needed—time to adjust.

  Removing her wedding outfit, Naomi hung the skirt and top in the closet, then turned back the bed and crawled between the sheets in her slip. She suddenly felt very tired, and a nap might help refresh her, might ease her trepidation for the coming night.

  But her dreams were far from restful. As if watching from a distance, she saw Aubree’s body floating in a bloodred swimming pool. Taryn stood on the side, screaming that someone had killed her mother. Naomi wanted to go to her, but she couldn’t move. Not even when a menacing shadow appeared behind Taryn.

  Run! Taryn, run! she wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Naomi could only watch in terror as the shadow moved closer. She thought for a moment it was Ray Beauchamp, but it wasn’t. It was—

  “Naomi! Wake up!”

  She opened her eyes with an effort. When she saw a shadow leaning over her, she gasped and tried to move away.

  “It’s me. It’s Alex,” he said soothingly. “You were having a nightmare.”

  She struggled to sit up. “How long have I been asleep?” she asked groggily.

  “A few hours.”

  “A few hours!” No wonder the room was so dim. She glanced toward the window, saw that darkness had fallen outside.

  “What time is it?”

  “After nine.”

  She’d been asleep for five hours! She ran a hand across her eyes. “I’m sorry. Is it too late to go to dinner?”

  “Not in New Orleans. Do you feel like getting out?”

  Not really, she thought. The bed felt so warm and cozy and safe. Outside, in the darkness, evil lurked.

  “Taryn—” she said in alarm.

  “I just talked to Taryn. She’s fine.”

  Naomi lay back against the pillows. “I had a dream about her. I dreamed she was in danger.”

  “Taryn’s safe and sound. It’s you I’m worried about. You’re the one who was almost killed,” he reminded her grimly.

  Naomi sighed. “I know.”

  “Tell you what,” he said, patting her arm. “You stay put. I’ll fix something downstairs and bring it up to you.”

  “You don’t have to wait on me,” she protested. “I’m not used to that.”

  “I know,” he said. “That’s why I want to do it.”

  He started to get up, but Naomi caught his arm. “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “We did the right thing, didn’t we? For Taryn?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know, Naomi. All I know is that I’d do anything for my daughter. If a DNA test proves that you gave birth to her, I don�
��t want to lose her. I don’t want you to take her away from me.”

  Naomi’s eyes flooded with tears. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “No,” he said. “I don’t believe you would. Not unless you thought it in her best interest. But this way, we can both be with her, for as long as she’ll let us.” He lifted his hand and pushed back her hair very gently.

  Naomi shivered as he trailed his fingers down the side of her face. “It won’t be so bad,” he whispered.

  At the moment, Naomi didn’t think it was bad at all. She was feeling quite...good.

  He leaned over her, his gaze deep and intense in the shadows. “I’m very attracted to you, Naomi.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that, so she moistened her lips and tried to forget the fact that she wore only a silk slip beneath the covers.

  His fingers glided over her throat, where only faint remnants of the bruises remained. He traced the outline of lace where her slip dipped between her breasts, and Naomi’s heart threatened to pound its way out of her chest.

  Very deliberately, he took the edge of the cover and pushed it away, exposing her, and his gaze moved greedily over the slip, her bare legs. He drew his breath in sharply.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured. “I think I’ve wanted you from the first moment you walked into my office.”

  A little over a week ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. So much had happened. Naomi felt as if she’d been waiting for this moment forever.

  She put her hands up to his shoulders and drew her to him. Their mouths touched, and Naomi trembled. He knew just how to kiss her. He knew how to awaken needs inside her that she hadn’t even known existed. He was certainly no clumsy teenager, and this wasn’t the back seat of a car. And yet there remained a forbidden aspect to their lovemaking that thrilled Naomi to her core.

  He tugged the straps of her slip down her arms, and then slid the silky fabric over her hips, along her legs. The other bits of silk followed, until she wore nothing but moonlight. When he stood to remove his own clothing, she reached down and drew the sheet over her.

  He lay down beside her. “Don’t cover up. Let me look at you.”