Free Reawakening Eden by Vivi Andrews

daring twenty miles per hour. The V-shaped plow Connor had hitched to the front of the SUV shoved the snow out of their path. The mountain road out of St. Maries was high and twisting, with a cliff face to one side and a drop-off on the other. Without being able to see the pavement through the snow, she really needed to be on point to keep them on the road, but here she was mooning over the man she’d left in the rearview mirror miles back.
    Focus, Eden . The weather had given them a head start on the Seattle bounty hunters, but they didn’t have time to dawdle. Especially since they were restricted to main roads and leaving such an obvious trail with the plowed swath behind them.
    No time for what-ifs and could-have-beens.
    The Suburban muscled up another curving incline, the pristine, snow-covered scenery stretching out in front of them like a Christmas card. It was another of those deceptive blue-sky days, when the world was so gorgeous she felt out of step for the hollow ache in her chest. No quantity of beautiful vistas could make this a good day.
    Then the Suburban rounded a blind turn and the day became much, much worse.
    An industrial-sized snowplow flanked by a pair of silver Land Rovers blocked the road. Eden stomped on the brake, gripping the wheel tightly and correcting as the SUV fishtailed in the snow. Her heart thundered against her ribs, and the children screamed, high, thin, nervous wails. Men piled out of the Land Rovers, running toward the Suburban as it skidded to a stop.
    Stupid. She’d been so stupid. Why had she assumed Ben and his reinforcements would wait out the storm? The entire time she’d been playing house, they’d been swarming around her, setting traps, creating roadblocks.
    She couldn’t get around them without driving off a cliff, she couldn’t back up without running the risk of backing into a ravine. Damndamndamn. Eden slammed the gearshift into park, double-clicked the locks and reached for the shotgun on the passenger seat.
    “Mama?” Hannah Rose’s plaintive whisper tugged at her, but Eden didn’t have time for reassurances. A rifle butt slammed into the window beside her head. The glass cracked, but held—though it wouldn’t forever. The children shrieked. A low rumbling growl from the far back reminded her of the wolfhound’s presence. Not entirely alone anymore.
    “Get in the back with Precious and cover your heads. You stay with her and if you get the chance, you run. Run all the way back to Connor if you can. Got it?” They could make it. Following the tracks. Twelve miles back to town, another six to Connor’s place.
    “Mom—”
    The left rear window shattered above Lucas’s head, glass tinkling. “Down, Lucas!” She shoved the shotgun barrel into the hole and squeezed the trigger. The recoil threw her back right as the driver’s window gave way. Another pair of hands closed on the shotgun before she could bring it around to fire again, trying to yank it out of her hands.
    “In the back! Now!”
    The children scrambled over the seat—she couldn’t tell if she’d hit anyone, but her shot had given them a few seconds without hands reaching through the rear window. Eden clung to the shotgun, her last defense, but she was twisted in the seat without any leverage and it was wrenched from her grasp. More hands reached through the window, gripping her by the hair, dragging her by her sweater. She raked her nails into any bit of skin she could get her hands on, punching and clawing, but every time she fought off one set of hands there was another there to take their place. Tiny shards of glass bit into her skin as they jerked her torso through the window.
    Precious’s barks and snarls mingled with the children’s sobs and the shouted curses and demands of their attackers. The dog was trapped in the confines of the SUV, unable to do much to defend the kids. Fish in a barrel. Eden lashed out with one foot, managing to stomp on the hatch release before she was