Sweet Surrender: A MacKenzie Family Novella Read online

  Sweet Surrender

  A MacKenzie Family Novella

  By Liliana Hart

  1001 Dark Nights

  Sweet Surrender

  A MacKenzie Family Novella

  By Liliana Hart

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2016 Liliana Hart

  ISBN: 978-1-942299-40-0

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Sweet Surrender

  A MacKenzie Family Novella

  By Liliana Hart

  It’s been twelve years since Liza Carmichael stepped foot in Surrender, but after her great aunt’s death she has no choice but to return and settle her estate. Which includes the corner bakery that’s been a staple in Surrender for more than fifty years.

  After twenty-five years on the job, Lieutenant Grant Boone finds himself at loose ends now that he’s retired. He’s gotten a number of job offers—one from MacKenzie Security—but he’s burned out and jaded, and the last thing he wants to do is carry the burden of another badge and weapon. He almost turns down the invitation from his good friend Cooper MacKenzie to stay as their guest for a few weeks while he’s deciding what to do with the rest of his life. But he packs his bag and heads to Surrender anyway.

  The only thing Boone knows is that his future plans don’t include Liza Carmichael. She’s bossy, temperamental, and the confections she bakes are sweet enough to tempt a saint. Thank God he’s never pretended to be one. But after he gets one taste of Liza and things start heating up in the kitchen, he realizes how delicious new beginnings can be.

  About Liliana Hart

  Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling Author of more than 50 titles. After starting her first novel her freshman year of college, she immediately became addicted to writing and knew she’d found what she was meant to do with her life. She has no idea why she majored in music.

  Since self-publishing in June of 2011, Liliana has sold more than 5 million ebooks and been translated into eight languages. She’s appeared at #1 on lists all over the world and all three of her series have appeared on the New York Times list. Liliana is a sought after speaker and she’s given keynote speeches and self-publishing workshops to standing-room-only crowds from California to New York to London.

  Liliana can almost always be found at her computer writing or on the road giving workshops for SilverHart International, a company she founded with her husband, Scott Silverii, where they provide law enforcement, military, and fire resources for writers so they can write it right.

  Connect with me online:

  twitter.com/Liliana_Hart

  facebook.com/LilianaHart

  My Website: www.lilianahart.com

  Also by Liliana Hart

  Click to purchase

  The MacKenzie Series

  Dane

  A Christmas Wish: Dane

  Thomas

  To Catch A Cupid: Thomas

  Riley

  Fireworks: Riley

  Cooper

  A MacKenzie Christmas

  MacKenzie Box Set

  Cade

  Shadows and Silk

  Secrets and Satin

  Sins and Scarlet Lace

  The MacKenzie Security Series (Includes the 3 books listed above)

  1001 Dark Nights: Captured in Surrender

  Sizzle

  Crave

  Troublemaker

  Scorch

  Spies and Stilettos

  THE COLLECTIVE SERIES

  Kill Shot

  THE RENA DRAKE SERIES

  Breath of Fire

  ADDISON HOLMES MYSTERIES

  Whiskey Rebellion

  Whiskey Sour

  Whiskey For Breakfast

  Whiskey, You’re The Devil

  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

  JJ GRAVES MYSTERIES

  Dirty Little Secrets

  A Dirty Shame

  Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

  Down and Dirty

  Dirty Deeds

  STANDALONE NOVELS/NOVELLAS

  All About Eve

  Paradise Disguised

  Catch Me If You Can

  Dedication

  To Scott~

  Because we get to do life together. And we’re a heck of a team. Thank you always for your unwavering support and love.

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  A huge thank you to MJ Rose and Liz Berry at Evil Eye Publishing for being the most awesome publishers ever, Jillian Stein for being a social media genius, and all the other 1001 Dark Nights authors who make this so much fun.

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Click here to explore

  FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black

  CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham

  CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

  DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake

  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

  SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair

  ROPED IN by Lorelei James

  TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Click here to explore

  WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan

  WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham

  EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby

  MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair

  CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner

  ADORED by Lexi Blake

  HADES by Larissa Ione

  RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton

  DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James

  RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON KING by Donna Grant

  PURE WICKED by Shayla Black

  HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye

  STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

  Sign up for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.

  There’s a contest every month!

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Liliana Hart

  Also by Liliana Hart

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 10
01 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Discover More Liliana Hart

  Discover the MacKenzie Family World

  An excerpt from The Darkest Corner by Liliana Hart

  Special Thanks

  One Thousand and One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories… to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday’s wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier’s daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story… I begin a new

  one… like the one that you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Chapter One

  A brisk March wind blew through Surrender.

  “Being a cop doesn’t mean I crave donuts.” Grant Boone glared out the window toward the bakery across the street.

  Cooper MacKenzie snorted, “You were a cop.”

  Grant’s hands fisted in his lap and his gaze dropped to stare at them as the familiar anger raged through his body. His light brown hair, which was long overdue for a cut, hung down to hide his expression. He knew Cooper hadn’t meant anything by it, but damn, the words still pierced him like a knife to the gut.

  “My mistake,” he said. “I was a cop.”

  “Come on, Grant. You know I didn’t mean it that way. Hell, you’re still the best there is. Your chief will wake up and realize his screw-up before long. Though I’ve always thought you and the city would clash before too long. Hell, look at you. You look like you walked out of one of those Marlboro commercials. What the hell is a country boy like you doing in Detroit anyway?”

  Cooper wasn’t the first person to tell him he didn’t belong in the Motor City. But he’d served the city with a purpose. He’d worked undercover, and he’d been an asset to the force. It wasn’t often they came across a six-foot-five, two-hundred-and-forty-five pound bruiser to work the biker bars and clubs.

  “There’s no going back, Coop. I gave that shithole city the best years of my life. And for what? A forced retirement under a cloud of an internal affairs investigation.” Grant set his coffee on the desk and knuckled his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept a full night through. God, was he tired.

  A bright red BMW SUV sped down Main Street, kicking up leaves as it turned with a squeal of tires and parked illegally at the side of the little bakery across the street.

  “Holy shit,” Grant said, bringing his boots down to the floor with a thump. “Who is that maniac?”

  “Damn,” Cooper said, whistling through his teeth. “I’m going to have to give her a ticket this time. We’ve warned her about the speed three times already. But you’re going to want to steer clear of that mess.” Cooper brought his own feet down and pushed back his chair. “She’s nothing but trouble.”

  Grant forgot his own problems back in Detroit as he watched the woman with fascination. The driver’s side door opened, and a pair of fancy cowboy boots touched the cobbled street. By the time she stood to her full height his mouth was already watering. Pure lust rolled deep in his belly. She looked like a modern-day Xena Warrior Princess with black hair and the body of an Amazon. He couldn’t see her eye color from that distance, but in his mind they had to be blue.

  She unloaded a large stack of white boxes from the back of the Beemer, and he watched her mouth move in what could only be curses as she fought to keep hold of them in the wind.

  He could tell by looking the woman was an absolute hellcat. He’d tussled with them before, and he had a knack for attracting them. He’d worked most of his career undercover, but he always seemed to connect with dangerous women who added an extra element of risk to his drug enforcement days.

  Grant grinned and shook his head. “Damn, Coop. You shouldn’t have said that. You know I love a good warning.”

  “Her name’s Liza Carmichael,” Cooper said. “Her great aunt passed not long ago. She ran that bakery for fifty years. Mrs. Baker never missed a morning’s opening. Though I seem to recall her coming in late once after she buried her husband in the early nineties.”

  “The old lady who owned the bakery was named Mrs. Baker?” Grant asked.

  “Ironic, huh?”

  “So Surrender has a new pastry chef,” Grant said. “Maybe I’ll take up donut eating after all. Once a cop, always a cop.”

  Cooper laughed and shook his head. “You always were a glutton for punishment.”

  “I miss the adrenaline rush.”

  “Hey, I know what you mean. And I’m not saying you should swear off donuts, but honestly, I’d stay away from her. She’s made it crystal clear that her intentions are to lease the space or sell it outright. Whichever brings her the greatest profit. She has no desire to stay in Surrender.”

  “Perfect,” he said. “Neither do I.”

  Grant ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back off his face, and he noticed Cooper’s scowl as his gaze locked on the disfiguring scar that ran the length of his left jaw to just behind his ear. He knew Cooper still carried the guilt of the injury, but there was nothing he or anyone could’ve done. It was just an undercover drug deal gone bad.

  “Coop,” he said, trying to divert attention back to the very sexy Ms. Carmichael. “I can assure you that I will never swear off donuts. I have a powerful sweet tooth.”

  “Are we still talking about actual donuts?”

  “There’s all kinds of donuts,” he said, smiling. “And I’ve got a hell of an appetite.”

  Cooper grabbed the sheriff’s cowboy hat off the stand behind his desk, snugged it on his head, and grabbed his
sheepskin coat.

  “What the hell?” Cooper said. “Things have been slow around here lately, and I need a good laugh. She’s going to tear you up, brother.”

  Grant slapped Cooper on the shoulder and grabbed his own coat as he followed him out of the office. “It feels just like old times.”

  Liza Carmichael fumbled with another case of cake boxes. It was her eighth trip into the old building. Each time she schlepped back out to her car to get another load, and then schlepped back inside again, fighting the wind and the door, she wondered why Aunt Rose had left her the bakery. She had other family, but instead, she’d left it all to Liza.

  Liza remembered visits during the summers when her folks would make the short drive down from Canada. It was Aunt Rose who’d taught her to bake, telling her stories of each of the family recipes and saying everything in her shop was made with love and great memories. And she’d nurtured Liza’s natural talent in the kitchen. The summer visits had stopped after her parents had divorced, but she’d always remembered those times with Aunt Rose. Apparently, Aunt Rose had remembered them too.

  The memories were distant now, and nostalgia had no place in her life. Surrender, Montana, was only a detour on her way to Los Angeles.

  New York had been her home for the last two years, but after the crash, she’d decided a fresh start was in order as far away from her ex-fiancé as possible. Most of that need for a fresh start and putting three thousand miles between them had to do with the fact that she’d driven Richard’s Mercedes C-class coupe right into his condo as he and his other girlfriend were busy breaking in the new comforter set Liza had just bought. Now that she knew that romance and happily-ever-afters were a crock of shit, it was time to focus on two things—herself and her career.

  Her pointy-toed, rhinestone-studded boot kicked against the bakery door. The bell, originally hung by her great aunt and uncle, tinkled irritatingly once again. She let the empty boxes spill from her hands and join the other white pastry boxes that covered the hardwood floor.

  She blew choppy bangs from her eyes and flopped into one of the wrought-iron chairs that sat around small round tables.

  “This is ridiculous. You always had a hell of a sense of humor, Aunt Rose.”