When Mathew Coulter lost his wife at the brutal hands of the infamous Sebastian gang, he vows revenge. Three years later he is still on their trail, having only felled one of them so far, when he comes across the mayhem of a train wreck which has their signature all over it. Sure enough, the gang has killed three passengers and taken a young woman with them. He’s finally nipping at the gang’s heels and he’d like to ride out and just kill the bastards, but now that they have another hostage which they will rape and brutalize as they have others, he knows he’s got to at least try to rescue the woman and put off killing them until he can get her to safety—that is if she is still alive after they’re done with her. Odds aren’t in her favor.

Eden Paxton knows her life is over—the only question is when. The fact they intend to sell her as a virgin over the border may save her from rape, but it hasn’t saved her from torture, brutalization and sexual abuse. Using mental mind games that her gunslinger brothers had taught her, she is hanging onto her sanity by a thread. 

When a strange man captures her from under the drunken noses of the Sebastian gang, Eden isn’t sure if she’s just traded one hell for another. The man is disheveled, smells and looks about as civilized as a mangy wolf. Only time will tell and Eden’s not sure she can handle the wait. Her nerves are raw, her strength has ebbed from lack of food and abuse and her ability to trust any man outside her brothers has been shattered. When she finds out he’s been leading her in circles, she’s ready to run…or kill him.

Mathew Coulter isn’t about to let any woman get the jump on him, even one as pretty and smart at Eden Paxton.  But gaining her trust won’t be easy. And managing the attraction he feels for her is going to be harder than he ever imagined.

 This story packs a one, two emotional punch that pulls the reader immediately into the story and carries through the trials and tribulations of two survivors—one who must learn to trust again and the other who must learn to love again. As Eden and Mathew grabble with their blossoming feelings for each other in the context of the evil that they’ve both endured at the hands of the Sebastian brothers, the reader can’t help but root for them—and fall in love as they do. Ms. Anderson continues to provide readers with top drawer romances and Early Dawn is no exception. An emotional, page-turning, captivating read.