His Caged Dove -Mafia Romance (BOOK ONE)

Eleven: Dove

Eleven:

Dove

The crunching of the snow against the bottom sole of the shoes Anastasia had lent me made me want to take it off and feel it under my foot again. Though what constricted me from doing so was the fact that I wasn't here to play, I was here to help Gedeon for whatever he needed.

Neither one said anything since we had left, and I spared a quick glance at him again. His expression was stoic per usual, cold and harsh. From his profile, I could see the scar more, ending right at edge of his face. His black peacoat was pulled tight around him, shielding him from the cold while I was in a rather puffy jacket.

I stared up at the sky, the first I had seen since my short walk to and from a car and then trained my eyes to everything around us. Seeing beauty was different than experiencing it, and I didn't know when the next time was I would be able to either. There was always something about Winter that intrigued Mother, even though everything was quiet. In her words, it gave her peace and quiet. Not to mention, what came next.

Deciding it was better to make conversation until he commanded me not to, I continued to stare around for a small storage house of some sort because we had passed by two already as we headed deeper into the back of the estate. "So...how far is this storage place?"

"Just about fifty more feet, to be precise," he replied with precision. "Watch your footing."

"I will," I nodded meekly as I continued to trail just a few steps behind him. Unlike the others I've noticed, Gedeon wasn't much of a talker. In fact, he answered usually just the bare minimum which was better than nothing at all. Still, I had to remember who he was at the end of the day, a cold-blooded killer who had no issues killing when needed.

Yet, a part of me wasn't at all frightened or unsettled when I was with him.

Perhaps it was because compared to Mateo or Robert, he was almost a godsent in my eyes. In the week I had been here, he has yet to do anything detestable that would keep me on edge. I had assumed he would keep me in my room with days on end to starve, maybe abuse me, take me against my will, or worse.

Instead, I was treated with great hospitality and even allowed to speak to those who he considered family and trusted enough to live on his property. Though Timor and Nicolai seemed indifferent for the most part, Anastasia and Aleksei was quite the opposite.

As I followed him deeper, I frowned because there was nothing within the next fifty feet that I saw besides blankets of white snow. I continued to follow him, and my eyes caught onto the small stream that had the edges of the bank frozen in a thin later of ice. Barren trees covered the back as I was struck in awe for a moment. The quietness except for the rushing water, the rustling of trees, and mix of crunches of snow from our walking made me hyperaware that I was outside of my cage.

That I was free, even if it was just an mockup imitation of it.

It was the first time I felt some sort of tranquility and peace within my mind.

"What are you looking at?" he asked suddenly, bringing me back to the present as my eyes found his. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression, his eyes trained on me as if I some sort of fascinating animal.

"I'm sorry?"

"What were you looking at for you to make that face," he illiterate,