The Rebel's Redemption

One

Ten years was a long time. But apparently not long enough to change a damn thing.

Nothing made that more evident than standing at the balustrade above his parents’ ballroom, staring down at the crush of people milling about.

All of them waiting for a glimpse of him.

The only one of them he cared to see was the woman he needed to stay far away from.

Laughter floated up as the gawkers danced, drinking expensive champagne out of cut crystal flutes. Celebrating his return like he’d been tucked away on some private island for a decade instead of being incarcerated.

The glitz and glitter couldn’t quite hide the maniacal flash of glee in their expressions. The bloodthirsty need for gossip.

As if he’d stand up here and orate some speech, spilling all the secrets he’d been protecting for years, simply because he was finally free.

Mocking amusement bubbled through his belly. Right. This whole evening was a farce, one with a terrible ending barreling straight toward him. Unfortunately, no amount of maneuvering could prevent what he knew was coming.

Anderson Stone, the prodigal son, was finally home, and everyone who was anyone in Charleston society had decked themselves out in their finest to scrutinize him and whisper politely behind his back.

At least in prison the enemy had been easy to identify. Here, everyone smiled to your face and then raked your reputation through the mud at the first opportunity.

Darling, what are you doing up here? You should be down there. Your friends are anxious to welcome you home.

Turning, Stone took in his mother, still gorgeous even well into her sixties. Her dark hair had turned more silver in the last ten years and there were a few more wrinkles crinkling the edges of her eyes, but nothing—not even watching her son being led out of a courtroom in handcuffs—could dim the light behind her bright blue eyes. Or diminish the serene confidence of her smile.

Slipping up beside him, she offered her cheek for a kiss, which Stone would never consider refusing. He’d put enough disappointment in her eyes. He’d do anything to avoid adding more.

But he didn’t make any move toward the stairs that would lead him down into the pool of circling sharks. Instead, he gripped the sweating glass of Scotch tighter in his fist and leaned farther out over the railing.

Sweetie, she murmured beside him, the heavy, comforting weight of her hand settling against his back. Who knew that at thirty, with all he’d seen and experienced, he could still need her touch to settle him like a toddler scared by a nightmare?

A scoffing sound scraped against his throat. He better than most was fully aware monsters didn’t just live in dreams. And no comforting hand could soothe away reality, not even his mother’s.

I know you’re struggling right now.

She had no idea, and he wasn’t about to clue her in.

But these people are here to support you.

Yeah, right. Stone couldn’t help letting his gaze sweep across the crowd below. He had a hard time believing that, although he was reluctant to crush his mom’s rose-colored view of the world by voicing his skepticism.

He’d been convicted of manslaughter, killing another member of their set. It didn’t matter that the bastard had deserved to die. Because only one other person knew that truth and he’d do absolutely anything to keep it that way.

Hell, he’d pleaded guilty and served time to keep the secret.

Standing up here half the night isn’t going to make it any easier.

God, on that, his mother was right. Pulling in a deep breath, Stone knocked back the rest of the Scotch in his glass, relishing the smooth taste of it across his tongue and the burn as it hit his gut. Good liquor was something he’d definitely missed.

Pushing away from the railing, he sent a forced smile in his mother’s direction and hoped she wouldn’t call him on the bullshit.

He was halfway to the staircase when her soft voice stopped him. Anderson.

She was the only person in his life who’d ever called him by his given name. That sound in her lilting drawl had a twist of emotions storming through him—regret chief among them. Pausing, Stone turned back to look at her.

I’m proud of you, son.

He had no idea how she could be, but she’d raised him right and he wasn’t about to argue with her. Not now.

There’s plenty of time for you to figure out what you want to do next. I know your father offered you a position within the company, and we’d both be overjoyed if you accepted. But neither of us expect you to make that decision immediately. Take your time. Enjoy your freedom.

Stone nodded, not having the heart to tell her he really had no interest in joining Anderson Steel, named after his mother’s grandfather. In a generation that rarely saw women in power positions in the business world, his parents had been jointly running the company as CEO and vice president since long before he’d been born.

His parents had met in the boardroom, going toe to toe when his own grandfather had brought in Nick Stone as a business consultant. Her Ivy League education newly minted, his mom hadn’t taken kindly to being forced to accept an interloper’s opinion. Or so the story went.

Sparks flew, but somewhere during compromising in the boardroom they’d ended up in the bedroom. And the rest was history.

Stone had always marveled at his parents’ ability to work together all day and still manage to be so overtly in love with one another. Although in his preteen years he’d definitely gone through a phase of thinking their displays of affection were embarrassing as hell.

Anderson Steel was his parents’ life, but he’d never felt as connected to it. He’d never wanted to join the company, although ten years ago it hadn’t really occurred to him that he could choose a different path. Now...there was something about losing your freedom for ten years that made you rethink every simple decision in your life.

He was no longer willing to go along with what had been expected, especially since he knew Anderson Steel wasn’t where he wanted to be. The problem was, he didn’t have another path. Yet.

But he’d cross that bridge later.

One issue at a time.

His feet hadn’t even hit the bottom step before the tasteful music drifting through the ballroom came to an abrupt stop. Every pair of eyes in the room turned, raking across him from head to toe.

Stone had no idea what they saw or thought. And, frankly, he didn’t care.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. One person there tonight mattered, even if she shouldn’t.

He’d felt her the minute she entered the room. But he was going to do his best to ignore her presence, just as he was going to ignore the stares and whispers.

Piper Blackburn stood in the shadows. Her heart thumped painfully inside her chest and despite the glass of Merlot she’d just downed, her throat felt dry and scratchy.

She couldn’t tear her eyes from him. Or stop her hands from shaking. Piper quickly deposited the empty glass on a nearby table before it slipped through her untrustworthy fingers.

The last thing she needed was to make a scene and draw his attention. Or, rather, she didn’t want his attention yet. She needed to get a grip before she confronted him.

Before she unleashed ten years of pent-up frustration, hurt and guilt.

Her entire body quivered. Her skin felt flushed, but an icy cold seeped into her veins. How was that possible?

Closing her eyes, Piper took several deep breaths, employing some of the calming techniques she taught her patients. Feeling a little more centered, she opened her eyes again. And immediately lost any sense of being centered when Stone was still in her line of sight.

Tall, strong and handsome as hell. He stood there, a dare to the room clearly filling those golden eyes.

He was different, but then she’d expected that. Ten years in prison would change anyone, right?

He was bigger. Not taller since even at twenty he’d been several inches over six feet, but broader. More muscular. Harder, not just in body, but in demeanor. The boy she’d known before had moved with easy grace. Oh, the grace was still there, but now it was like the silky outer shell covered up a core of pure steel.

Piper couldn’t stop the bubble of hysterical laughter at her own joke. Steel for the son of the steel magnates. Seriously, she needed to get a grip or the speech she’d been working on was not going to come out the way she’d planned.

And that would piss her off more than anything.

Tonight might be Stone’s return to society and freedom, but it was also going to provide closure. The last piece she needed to fully put the past behind her.

Slowly, murmurs began. People shifted. And then someone pushed through the crowd to clap Stone on the back and welcome him home. Hands propelled him forward through the crowd. For the better part of an hour Piper kept to the edges, watching as he greeted people he’d known his entire life with a blank expression that never shifted. He didn’t smile or laugh. Stone was polite and confident, remote and untouched.

He was different and that was her fault.

However, that wasn’t going to stop her from asking the questions she’d been denied answers to for ten years.

Piper waited, watching and biding her time. She refused the cold, frosted glasses of champagne several circulating waiters tried to entice her with. The last thing she needed right now was to be even more off-kilter.

When Stone cut through the crowd for his mother, leaned down and whispered something into her ear before heading for the stairs, Piper knew it was now or never. Her mouth went dry and for a moment she regretted not having one of the flutes so she could at least take a tiny sip. What she was about to do would be difficult if she couldn’t find her voice.

With a deep breath, she skirted around the crowd, avoiding the main staircase Stone had used in favor of the smaller one tucked into the back of the room that the staff had been utilizing. Growing up, this house had been just as familiar as her own. Maybe more. She knew every nook and crevice. Had explored them with the man now trying to escape from the party thrown in his honor.

Escape her.

But Piper was done letting him ignore her.

The heavy wooden door at the top of the staircase opened onto the quiet hallway just in time for her to register the click of the library door closing at the far end. Of course he’d go there, the room where they’d spent so many hours together. The room filled with happiness and good memories.

As kids, they’d curl up on the rug in front of the massive fireplace and laugh as they read aloud to each other of wild and outlandish adventures. As teens, they’d lounged on the soft, tufted sofas, doing homework and philosophizing about the future.

Life had been so amazing, so wide-open with possibility.

And then it wasn’t.

But not even that painful memory could stop her from opening the door and following him inside. Words, long practiced, swirled in her brain as the door snicked quietly closed behind her. Piper pressed her back against it, needing the support of the solid surface.

A warm, muted glow from a series of wall sconces washed the entire room in golden light. At the other end, Stone stood in front of the huge, curved windows, his back to her. Without even turning he said, I wondered how long you were going to wait.

The heavy rumble of his voice scraped along all of her already jangling nerves. Electricity skipped across her skin. It was that simple and that complicated. Her reaction to this man had been a jumble of conflicting emotions for years.

Piper realized she was frozen like one of the ice swans that adorned the buffet downstairs when Stone twisted his neck, pinning her with a laser gaze. His remote expression was like a swift kick in the gut.

Asshole.

They’d been through too much for him to look at her with the same blank, dispassionate expression he’d given everyone else.

She deserved more from him, dammit.

Suddenly, she shot across the room, her long legs eating up ground as she raced toward him. All the words she’d practiced bubbled on her tongue, ready to spill out of her mouth.

Stone turned, his feet braced wide and his hands balled into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit pants.

She wanted to slap him. To relish the sound of her hand cracking across that strong, stubborn jaw.

But she couldn’t do it. Even angry, she was still so relieved to finally see him.

Instead, the momentum she’d gathered drove her straight into him. Her arms wrapped around his broad frame, plastering her body against him. Warmth and happiness and a churning regret settled deep in her belly.

Piper’s eyes closed as a wave of yearning crashed over her.

It was so damn good to hold him.

And then she realized he hadn’t moved. Stone’s fists were still heavy balls tucked into the pockets of his pants. And his tall frame was as solid and unmoving as the wall behind them.

Embarrassment mixed with the anger that had initially propelled her forward.

She hadn’t come here to throw herself at him.

Pushing away, she tried to find some space. I’m sorry.

For what?

I just watched two dozen people that don’t really give a damn fawn all over you like you’re the second coming of Christ, all while silently condemning them for being hypocritical and phony.

For a flash of a second a twinkle sparkled deep in his warm, tawny eyes. But it only lasted a breath before it was snuffed out. That makes two of us.

And I basically just did the same thing.

Hardly.

Piper shook her head. But it was either hug you or slap the hell out of you.

Stone’s lush lips pulled down at the corners. You’re mad at me.

Of course I’m mad at you, you nitwit. Great, now she was calling him names. She was breaking all the rules tonight. Why wouldn’t she? She was dealing with Anderson Stone after all, the man known for thinking the rule book was nothing more than a suggestion.

There’s no reason.

Was he serious? No reason? Stone, you refused to see or speak to me for ten years. And after killing my stepbrother in order to protect me.

Sure, their relationship had been complicated back then, but they’d still been close. Best friends. And then he was just...gone.

When she’d needed him most.

But that wasn’t what she was still angry about. She’d come to terms with what had happened. She’d spent years in therapy, getting the help she needed to work through her own anger and guilt. What she hadn’t been able to let go of was the way he’d simply shut her out, refusing to let her protect him the way he’d always protected her.

You didn’t give me a chance, Stone. To admit that Blaine had been intimidating and harassing me for years before things escalated. Saying the words made the remnants of her own fury and regret spike. You sacrificed everything, and then refused to talk to me.

Piper was so wrapped up in her own irritation that she didn’t register the change in Stone’s posture and expression until his hands wrapped around her upper arms, pulling her onto the tips of her toes so she could look him eye to eye.

Harassing you for years? The words were deadly, right along with the murderous expression just inches from her face. Unease skittered down Piper’s spine and had her swallowing loudly in a useless attempt to get a grasp on the sudden turn of emotions.

Stone’s words were measured and deliberate. That wasn’t the first time he’d hurt you?

Slowly, Piper shook her head. No. I mean, yes.

A low rumble rolled up through his chest, reminding her of a caged beast. One about ready to break free. Which is it?

"No, he hadn’t