The Promise of Surrender Read Online Free PDF

Don’t forget that I’m the one person who can see past the man you pretend to be. “
    “Not this time. I’m not the man I used to be.”
    “You look the same to me. Same deceptions. Same games. Same techniques when it comes to getting me in bed. If you’re that hard up for sex just say so. No need for the lies. I can be accommodating. It’s been a while for me too.”
    “I’m not finished with you, Mia. Not by a long shot.”
    Mia hit the buzzer and two little old ladies shuffled through the door with a large box. Zeke passed them on the way out and reminded himself that sometimes things had to get worse before they could get better.
     

Chapter Three
    Mia waited until dark to close the shop and head home. And she wasn’t afraid to admit it was out of sheer cowardice just to stay out of Zeke’s path a little longer. She needed the time to think. To try and remember all the things they’d fought about. To bring back that feeling of why she’d left to begin with. But all she could remember was how much she’d missed him. And how much she’d loved him.
    She’d had nonstop customers from the moment Zeke had left, and she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to take a closer look at the music box. There had to be some reason both bikers and cops would be looking for it. And no one was telling the truth. So she’d wrapped it with packing material and put it in her backpack. She had less chance of being interrupted at home.
    The moon was only a sliver in the sky and heavy clouds blocked the minimal light it gave. The wind cut through her thin jacket the moment she stepped out the back door and locked up, and she realized fall was coming to a close and winter was right behind it. It was pitch black and there were no sounds or car lights from the road. There were hardly any travelers along her stretch of road after dark anyway. It had never bothered her before. But tonight her senses were tingling.
    She carried her weapon down at her side and her backpack slung over her shoulder as she unlocked her 4x4 and got inside. Thoughts of the biker coming back with his brothers had never left her mind, and she sure as hell didn’t want to face them unarmed.  Though in reality she’d be better off using the gun on herself rather than being passed between them.
    The drive into Surrender was quick and easy. The town was locked up tight for the most part. All the shops downtown were dark except for the gaslights that flickered along the walkways. There were lights coming from some of the apartments above the shops, including hers, but it looked like most of the action was happening down at Duffey’s Pub at the far end of Main Street.
    She rolled her window down and could hear the beat of the music from the live band. Cars littered the parking lot and every light imaginable was on, inside and out. Duffey’s wasn’t her scene, but still she was tempted to take a detour and head that direction. Drink a couple of beers, dance with a couple of ranch hands, and keep her mind off Zeke.
    But instead, she pulled into her parking space behind the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor. If she could get a cold beer and a shower then all would be right with the world. The only issue was the man sitting in her rocking chair.
    “I didn’t figure you’d want me going inside without you,” he said, his smile easy. As if nothing more than a simple conversation had passed between them earlier. It was one of the things that had always driven her crazy about him. When he was over something, he was over it, and he moved on. Her emotions weren’t quite as settled. 
    “You figured right,” she said. “I would’ve shot first and asked questions later.”
    “I thought that temper of yours would’ve settled over the years.”
    “Nope, I’m mean as a snake.”
    “That’s not what the ladies at the bakery downstairs said. Those are amazing cinnamon rolls, by the way.”
    “I know. Why are you here again? I figure if I keep