A NEW RESOLVE

Her mouth burnt from the bitter taste of the medicine her father gave her. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

She nodded slightly. "You have always been resistant to the idea of a war on El Puerto. Now, you know what kind of beasts those people are."

Irina's eyes brightened in the dim light of her bedside lamp. Unshed tears reflected in them.

"We must retaliate. Blood for blood, Irina. Rest now. In the morning, we will talk better." Mr. Madrigal kissed her head and left the room.

The next morning, Irina sat up in bed, her arms wrapped around her body as she thought about everything. El Russo in particular. Her heart ached from the pain she was feeling, her cheeks damp from having cried all through the night.

He had occupied a certain part of her brain, and she found it hard to believe that he was the same man she had despised her whole life. She remembered the wrath in his eyes, the materialistic nature of the hate she had felt when he spoke to her.

Something new awakened in her. It wasn'