The night smelled like burning rubber and blood.
Raven climbed out of the black SUV and stopped on the cracked sidewalk. The neighborhood sat three blocks from De Luca port territory. It had been calm here once. Families lived here. Kids played in the yards during the day. Tonight it looked like a war zone.
Caruso had not attacked the port like everyone expected. They hit the homes instead. Small houses with broken windows and doors kicked in. Flames licked at one roof down the street. Smoke drifted low across the pavement.
Bodies lay everywhere. Adults. Teenagers. And children. Some in their pajamas. Blood ran into the gutters and mixed with glass from shattered windows. A bicycle lay on its side near a little girl in pink. Her eyes stared at nothing.
A Guardian walked up and handed Raven a flashlight. She took it without looking at him and clicked it on. The beam cut through the dark and landed on the message painted in thick white letters across the side of a burned car.
