Dawn of Surrender
A MacKenzie Family Novella
By Liliana Hart
1001 Dark Nights
Dawn of Surrender
A MacKenzie Family Novella
By Liliana Hart
1001 Dark Nights
Copyright 2017 Liliana Hart
ISBN: 978-1-945920-54-7
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
Dawn of Surrender
A MacKenzie Family Novella
By Liliana Hart
MacKenzie vs. MacKenzie...
Cole MacKenzie is content to be the sheriff of Surrender, Montana, but he’s needed for a greater purpose. The United States needs a U.S. Marshal with a certain kind of experience to track the leader of the notorious Silver Creek Bandits, as they leave a trail of bodies in their wake with every bank they rob. The leader is smart, cunning, and ruthless. And he's also his brother.
Elizabeth MacKenzie never dreamed she’d marry Cole MacKenzie, but thanks to her father’s meddling, Cole was hers to have and to hold. Forever. She needed an equal, not a man to rule her life, and Cole fit the bill every in every way. If only he loved her.
One heart is broken and the other is bent on revenge, but love is a choice, and it's one Cole and Elizabeth are determined to make.
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 spending time with her husband and five children.
Connect with me online:
twitter.com/Liliana_Hart
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lilianassweetharts/
My Website: www.lilianahart.com
Also by Liliana Hart
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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
Sweet Surrender
Dawn of Surrender
The Promise of Surrender
THE GRAVEDIGGERS SERIES
The Darkest Corner
Gone To Dust
Say No More
THE COLLECTIVE SERIES
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
Dirty Laundry
STANDALONE NOVELS/NOVELLAS
All About Eve
Paradise Disguised
Catch Me If You Can
Dedication
To all the readers who love the MacKenzies. I hope you keep a little piece of Surrender in your hearts forever.
Acknowledgments from the Author
A huge thanks to the team at 1001 Dark Nights! I couldn’t ask for more amazing people to work with, and what makes it better is that they’re friends. So to Liz, MJ, Jillian, Kim, and everyone who makes this such an incredible experience, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s been a pleasure and an honor.
A huge thanks to my husband, Scott, who goes above and beyond in all things husband. He listens to me work my way out of corners I’ve written myself into, smiling and nodding. He keeps me hydrated with endless Route 44 Sonic drinks, and he doesn’t sleep until I do when I’m on deadline. He’s the best support system a girl could ask for. I’m lucky to have married a real life hero.
I also want to thank my children. They really are the most incredible people, who have learned to adjust accordingly to the odd eccentricities, writing and deadline schedules kept by their mother. I’m grateful they love pizza and hot dogs, but I’m also grateful for the privilege of raising some of the finest people I know.
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
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
; Click here to explore
HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham
SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst
DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice
ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey
DEVOTED by Lexi Blake
Z by Larissa Ione
FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige
EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby
UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton
HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye
DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant
KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
STRUNG UP by Lorelei James
MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian
TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti
DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black
THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely
SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
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1001 Dark Nights story
The First Night
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Table of Contents
Book Description
About Liliana Hart
Also From Liliana Hart
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Discover more 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
Montana, 1892
For all intents and purposes, Elizabeth MacKenzie should’ve died on a Tuesday.
The bank was stifling despite the beginnings of a blizzard outside. As it was almost closing time, they’d already shut the windows and the brazier was burning hot in the corner. Sweat was dripping in some very unladylike places. Not that anyone in Surrender would call her a lady, but it had never mattered much what other people thought.
There was a line of customers who’d waited until the last minute to do their business for the day. Most were shop owners who knew this would be their last chance to make a deposit before the storm shut everything down. And everything would be shut down. With luck, it would only be for a couple of days. At worst, it could be a couple of weeks.
She worried about the cattle and the ranch, but she knew her foreman and the ranch hands would take good care of everything. Even if she wanted to make it back home, there was no way to do it safely. The storm had already found Surrender.
She watched the gray clouds roll toward them through the western wall of windows, the mountains no longer visible and the snow swirling in several directions. The wheeze of the wind could be heard through cracks in the windows and door. The atmosphere in the room was fraught with tension. No one spoke, and everyone was wondering how long they had to see to necessities before things got so bad they had to find shelter in town.
There were only two tellers behind the counter, Leroy Henry and Miss Adelaide Murchison. Lizzie had seen the bank manager, Samuel Peabody, peek out from his office once and then close the door. Lord knew, if work was involved Samuel was the first to disappear.
Leroy barely came up to Elizabeth’s shoulders, and his body was so round he often gave the impression that he rolled from place to place instead of using his feet to walk. Miss Adelaide was unusually tall for a woman, almost a head taller than Elizabeth, and she had a long, hawk-like nose that made it seem as if she were looking down at everyone she talked to.
Leroy was a sweet man, but he worked at half the pace of Miss Adelaide. No one had ever called Miss Adelaide sweet. She was the meanest, most contrary woman Elizabeth had ever known. She’d take slow Leroy over Miss Adelaide any day of the week.
Elizabeth tapped the toe of her boot impatiently and tried not to fidget. She’d never been very good at waiting, especially when her plans involved a romantic night with her husband in the Surrender Hotel. Between the ranch and his duties as sheriff and dealing with her father’s death, they hadn’t taken time for a honeymoon.
In many ways, Cole was still a stranger to her. And she knew she was like a stranger to him too. She was more than capable of admitting that she wasn’t like any other woman. And maybe that’s why their marriage had gotten off to an unusual start. But she had to think her uniqueness was part of the reason Cole married her.
It had been Cole’s suggestion to take two nights away from everything. And the timing with the storm had worked out beautifully. No one was going much of anywhere over the next two days, and they could spend the time devoted to each other instead of the needs of everyone else.
She and Cole had been two very independent people when they’d married. Elizabeth had never planned to marry at all, but her father’s foresight had protected her and the ranch that had belonged to her grandfather. Of course, she hadn’t realized that her father had asked Cole to marry her if he passed away. And she’d thought her father hadn’t known she’d been in love with Cole MacKenzie since she was a young girl. But he’d known.
In his own way, he’d played matchmaker to make sure she’d gotten everything she wanted and still had control of the ranch. If her father hadn’t deeded the ranch to Cole after he’d agreed to marry her, then it would’ve been taken from her. The bank would’ve put it up for sale to the highest bidder and she would’ve been left with nothing. Women couldn’t own land in this part of the country. But their husbands could. And what she’d needed was a husband to keep her life from changing.
And though she’d been in love with Cole for years, he was a good dozen years older than she was. She couldn’t help but wonder… If her father had never approached Cole about marrying her, would he have noticed her at all?
She was hoping more than anything that the two days they spent together would give them a marriage like her parents. Cole had been a good husband. He was kind and patient, but he was distant. They circled each other, never knowing what to say, so they didn’t say anything and went on about their lives.
The only time she really felt like they were speaking the same language was when they made love. They had no miscommunications there. What she needed was to know that Cole loved her, and that she was more than just a favor he was fulfilling for her father.
But her time with Cole couldn’t start until she’d finished her errand at the bank.
“Next.” Miss Adelaide’s shrill voice echoed in the building.
Drat. Elizabeth could’ve sworn she heard the person behind her sigh in relief that they weren’t getting stuck with Miss Adelaide. On the plus side, Elizabeth would get out much faster and she could be on her way to the hotel. She straightened her spine and moved toward the old bat’s window.