"Fish soup. How amazing. I haven't had that in a while since somebody at this table refuses to eat it," Steve said.
Loretta and Roxanne shared a look and then watched Sami as he served three portions of fish soup.
"Thank you, Sami. It smells amazing," Steve said.
"Enjoy your meal," Sami said.
"I will," Steve said. "I love fish soup."
Sami retreated to the kitchen and Steve picked up his spoon. He had a smile on his face as he started eating. Loretta and Roxanne sat there with their arms crossed, both of them pretending to pout over the choice of food. Steve was halfway through when he suddenly started couging. His eyes went huge and he started scratching at his throat. He tried standing up but fell down on the floor. The two maids rushed over but it was too late. He was already dead.
"What happened?" Roxanne asked.
"The soup," Loretta said. "Get the chef."
"I'll get security," one of the maids said.
Loretta and Roxanne hurried out in the kitchen and stopped at the sight of Sami dead on the floor. Security came rushing in seconds later with their guns drawn.
"What happened?" One of the security men asked.
"He did as I said. He killed himself after having killed my father. I told him if he ever planned on trying to kill us, he would have to kill himself afterwards. I didn't think he would actually try something that stupid," Loretta said.
"It's true," one of the maids whispered. "I heard her say it yesterday."
"Is this my fault?" Loretta asked.
"No, cousin, no," Roxanne said.
"I can't be here right now," Loretta said.
Loretta started crying and Roxanne put her arms around her.
"Let's all take a break. Leave the bodies and wait for further instructions. Loretta just needs a moment alone," Roxanne said.
Roxanne guided Loretta out of the kitchen. They went to Steve's office and closed the door. Loretta smirked and dried her eyes.
"And she fake cries too," Roxanne chuckled. "You're good."
"I told you I could do it," Loretta said.
"We still got all his workers to deal with. They were loyal to a tee," Roxanne said.
Loretta sat down on her father's desk chair and felt the wood from the desk with her hands. She could get used to calling this office hers in the future.
"Call Solo," Loretta said.
Roxanne nodded and left the room. Loretta kept sitting at the desk and hardly ten minutes later shooting sounded through the house. It died down shortly after and the door to the office opened. Roman stepped inside and looked at her. She took out a small, empty vial and placed it on the table in front of her.
"Poison is always a classic," she said.
"I told you it would work," he said.
"I suppose I owe you a thank you for giving it to me," she said.
She stood up and stared him down. They couldn't keep pretending for more than a few seconds. They both burst out laughing. She ran around the table and jumped up into his arms. He kissed her and moved back to the desk to sit her down on it. Someone cleared their throat behind him. They both looked over at the door to see Solo and Roxanne with their arms around each other.
"I get you wanna make some sort of statement by fucking your girlfriend on her dead father's desk to state dominance but we got a bunch of bodies we need to get rid of first," Solo said.
"Always killing the fun," Roman smirked.
"That's okay. We got a lifetime to fuck without having to sneak around anymore," Loretta said.
Roman chuckled and placed a kiss on Loretta's lips.
"I remember the first time I saw you," Loretta said.
"I remember that day too," Roman said. "And I remember every single day since that first time. You didn't even have to try to get into my life. I let down my guards and let you in from the first second."
"And I'll never leave," Loretta said.
"I'm quite happy about it too," Solo chuckled. "Otherwise I would never have met Roxy."
"I love you," Roxy said.
"Okay, we can all be romantic and whatever later," Roman said. "Let's go burn some bodies."
They walked out of the office and found Roman's men in the process of stacking the bodies in trailers. They got into Roman's car and drove to his special place where he always burned bodies. A place that had never been found by anyone. They stood far enough back and watched everyone from Loretta's life inside the mansion go up in flames.
"There goes my past," Loretta said.
"And here's your future," Roman placed an arm around Loretta's shoulders. "I love you, panda bear."
"I love you too, puffin," Loretta said.
"I got your army trained and ready. You picked some good ones. They'll be there tonight when we go back. News about your father's death will travel far the moment he doesn't show up where he's wanted next, and people will start asking questions. We gotta stay one step ahead so we're all safe moving forward. People will soon know we're together and if they come for one of us, they'll deal with both of us," Roman said.
Roman kissed the top of Loretta's head and sighed happily.
"I'm never gonna do what he did. You're not my prisoner. You're my fucking queen and we'll rule this town together," Roman said.
"That must make you my king," Loretta giggled.
"So I'm the princess and Solo is the prince," Roxanne said.
"I'm not a prince," Solo laughed. "I'm just a man who loves a woman."
Lorette smiled at Roxanne and snuggled closer to Roman. It had been a long and hard road to figure out how to get rid of Steve so they could be with Roman and Solo. When Sami had crossed Roman, they had come up with the plan to kick him out on the street instead of Roman killing Sami. Loretta knew Steve couldn't resist bringing in Sami, and they could use him for their plan. Roman had the poison and Loretta took care of getting it in the soup just before it was set to be served.
"38 long years with that cruel man," Loretta said. "It feels like my life is finally starting, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.