Shattered Roses

Part V: Chapter 28

September 25, Midnight

The Woods

Franny was nervous as she waited in the dark with the headlights beaming against the trees. Despite her anxiety, she felt strangely fearless. Every obstacle they threw at her, she overcame. She was no longer the same woman she was a few days ago. She'd been through war and come out the other side changed, now she'd gone through hell.

She no longer cared about trying to fit back in with society, with friends that didn't truly care about her. Life was about much more than that for her, like keeping her family safe and a little girl that meant the world to her.

She saw the illumination of a new set of headlights in the distance. They appeared across the field, bit by bit until they came into full view, creeping ever closer to the woods where she waited. Franny didn't truly know what to expect, or if this would work, but she prayed for it. The automobile approaching drew to a halt some distance away, but the lights stayed on, aimed at the forest, casting shadows and lights through the trees.

This was it. This was where it'd started, and this was where it would end.

"Stay here." She pushed open the car door, the window a shattered mess, and then walked out into the empty field, grass brushing her ankles, her heels sinking into the dirt. She stopped halfway to the other car, feeling the weight of Vincent's gun tucked in her dress pocket. It felt like she waited a long time for the door to finally open and for a man to step out.

Some animal called out in the night, the only other noise as his feet crunched in the dirt and grass. He walked slow, but it was Raffa himself, his face more pinched than usual as he squinted at her in the darkness. There was a crease in his brow as he approached and straightened his fine suit. He stopped a few feet from her, the air thick as they studied each other a moment.

"I was surprised to get your phone call." He was scrutinizing her hard and she stayed silent. There was still blood on her dress though she'd washed her hands and face clean. It didn't change the fact that there was a nasty gash on her temple, raw skin around her wrists, and tears in her clothes. "You said you have a proposition." His lips stay parted like there was something more he wanted to say and she knew there was. She was supposed to be dead. His son and nephew were with her the last time he saw them. He must be wondering where they were. She was nearly certain by this point in the night, he'd begun to wonder why he hadn't heard from Gio as well.

"I do have a proposition," she said firmly. "I want a truce and I want my conditions to be met."

"I assume you have something to bargain with if you're making these demands?"

It was a professional inquiry into his son's and nephew's lives. Franny took a slow breath to keep herself calm. This proposition relied on him hearing her out. He could probably kill her at any moment. "Something happened tonight, Mr. Raffa, but I know you don't trust me, so I'll let him help me explain." She turned and waved at the car and a moment later, the passenger door popped open and a young man came limping towards them, his shoulder bandaged and his arm in a sling to keep it stable. He stopped behind her, a few feet away, but he was close enough that Raffa could see him and hear him clear and easy.

Raffa's lips drew back, almost in a snarl, but he was controlled. "Speak, Miss Rose. Fast." She understood the warning. He was distraught by his son's ragged appearance and he wasn't a man to be trifled with. She didn't imagine things went wrong for him often, and tonight his heart was going to break.

"Mr. Raffa, you've been betrayed. Tonight, both your sons and nephew were fired upon by Officer Bobby Smith at the Boykins's house." Her words caught him off guard and his expression turned to stone.