The world outside looked like it had been remade overnight.
Every branch, every fence post, every rock was wrapped in white. The sky was clean and bright, the kind of blue that made you want to breathe deeper. My boots sank with each step, light crunches in the soft snow.
We got in his SUV and started to drive. The snowbanks on either side of the road glowed under the pale sun, and for the first time since I’d left the hotel, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder.
“So, where are we going?” I asked, leaning forward to adjust the vent.
He didn’t look away from the road, but I saw it — the flicker of amusement at the corner of his mouth. “You’ll see.”
“You realize this is kind of suspicious, right? Man from the criminal underworld takes woman to unknown location in a secluded mountain range.”
“You definitely listen to too many documentaries,” His lips twitched. “True crime junkie.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. “You’re so immature.”
He barked a laugh. “I’m immature? You’re the one pouting like a child over there.”
I rolled my eyes even though he had a point. “Whatever,” I grumbled, turning my attention out the window.
We turned off the main road after about twenty minutes. A weathered sign peeked out from a drift of snow: High Falls Gorge.
I sat up, excitement coursing through me. “You’re taking me to the gorge?”
He shrugged one shoulder, eyes still on the road. “Could use a change of scenery.”
“You? Or me?”
His mouth curved, barely. “Both.”
After we parked, we followed the narrow trail that wound through the trees, our boots crunching on the packed snow. The sound of rushing water grew louder, echoing through the stillness until it drowned out everything else.
When the trees opened up, I stopped breathing.
The gorge spread out before us — frozen in places, alive in others. The sunlight hit the falls, scattering through mist in shards of gold and blue. Every edge glittered. Sheets of ice shimmered like glass curtains while dark water thundered beneath. The sound was deep and endless, the kind that made your chest ache just listening to it.
“Wow,” I whispered in awe, feeling like I’d been transported to another world.
Enzo didn’t say anything. He just stood there beside me, hands in his pockets, watching the falls like he’d forgotten for a second that danger even existed.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured softly.
He nodded once, our eyes meeting. “Yeah, it is.”
The tone of his voice and the way he was looking at me made me feel like he wasn’t talking about the gorge.
We made our way down the path toward the catwalks that stretched over the gorge. The metal was slick under our boots, the railing cold to the touch. I stopped halfway across, peering down where the water slammed through the ice. Mist hit my face, cool and sharp.
“Don’t lean too far,” he warned from behind me.
I smiled without turning. “I’m fine.”
“Sure,” he said, close now. “Until you’re not.”
I could feel him just behind me — his presence, solid and quiet. The kind that didn’t make you nervous, exactly, but made you aware.
“Would you dive in after me?”
His jaw tightened slightly. “Don’t test that theory.”
