AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think that’s part of the reason I’ve fallen in love with you. You will do anything for the people you care about, and I’m in awe of you, Lom Umarova.” I squeeze my arms around him a bit more tightly, and he takes a hand under my chin and tips it up. When he can finally reach my lips, he gives me the sweetest kiss I’ve ever gotten from him, and as he pulls away, I sigh.
“I love you, too, my strong woman. Now, let’s go tell your daughter and get her ready for the flight later,” Lom suggests, and I nod eagerly.
Ludvik drives us to where the tractor trailers are, and as the other girl’s parents check out, they’ll be reunited with them. If they aren’t able to go back with their birth families, they’re going to be sent to live with the Skulls Renegade MC in Gainesville, Tennessee. The Skulls Renegade MC has been a huge supporter of removing children and women from trafficking situations. I know any of the children who go there will be taken care of in an amazing manner, and Lom already suggested ways to give them new identities. He said if any of the Skulls Renegade members wanted to adopt them, he’d make sure that was possible. He’d get fake birth certificates with their names on them, plus passports, social security cards, etc. He said between his family and their other connections, it would be easy to do, and I believe him.
Once we’re where the girls are, my Sierra is brought out to me. She’s smiling, which is a sight for sore eyes. Only, she stops smiling and looks between Lom and me. “Are you here to tell me I’m not your daughter?”
“No, sweetheart, not at all. You are. We just got the results a little while ago, and we’re heading home tonight,” I tell her, trying to keep the emotion from taking over my voice.
“Are you serious? I’m yours? I’m being reunited with my mom and dad?” Sierra jumps for joy, and then the tears come falling down her face. I glance up at Lom to see what sort of reaction he has to Sierra thinking she’s his daughter, and he’s smiling too.
“You’re safe, malyshka,” Lom tells her, and I have no idea what he’s calling Sierra, but it must be some sort of nickname.
I wrap my arms around Sierra, and she cries against my neck. “I hope you know this was never what we sought for you. It was never supposed to be like this.” Deep down, I’m worried Sierra won’t forgive me for what’s happened to her.
“The only thing that matters now is I’m with you two,” Sierra cries and hiccups through her words, but she holds onto me tightly. She eventually lets go of me and runs into Lom’s arms, holding onto him stronger than she did with me.
The two of us have intense eye contact, and it’s like through our eyes, we’re telling one another how much we love the other.
Truth be told, I never thought things would ever go this well between us… and now I know that Lom Umarova isn’t a man I could ever live without.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lom
We landed in Grozny late last night, and thankfully this time, there weren’t any flight issues. I didn’t tell Emily this at first, but I purchased a four-bedroom townhome right down the street from where Nazyr and Eset live. It’s maybe about two blocks away, and it’s also not too far from where Ruslan, Amelia, and Karim live.
I’m sitting at the breakfast bar sipping my coffee when Sierra comes down the stairwell. She’s in a matching pair of lilac-purple pajama pants, and when she spots me, she looks around nervously. “You hungry, malyshka? I can make you something to eat,” I suggest, knowing she hasn’t eaten since we were on the jet yesterday.
Sierra nods without hesitating one bit. I need to get going, so I can handle some family business. Ruslan hasn’t killed Artos yet, but I believe today will be the day when that insufferable bastard takes his last breath.
“What would you like?” I give her the opportunity to choose something because I know we’ve been exposing her to a lot of foods she’s never experienced before. She never had the simplicity of pizza or cookies before, so I don’t want to overwhelm her palette.
“Um… I’m not sure. What did you have?” Sierra inquires, and I’m not sure if she’d like what I had for breakfast.
“I had a pumpkin tart, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
“I’d like to try it at least,” Sierra replies with a smile, so I go grab the pumpkin tarts from the counter.
I think she’d like it if it is warmed up, so I put it on a plate and pop it in the microwave for forty-five seconds. While I let that heat up, I get her a tall glass of milk. Finally, when the microwave beeps, I grab the plate for her and place it on the breakfast bar. “Give it a few seconds to cool down, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra acts like she has more to say, but she’s quiet for a few seconds until she has the courage to speak up again. “Are you and Mom married? I didn’t see a ring on your fingers, and when Uncle Ruslan and Aunt Amelia came by to see us last night, they had rings, so why don’t you and Mom have rings?” Ah, she’s diving into the thick of it. I didn’t even think she paid that much attention, but she obviously does.
“No, we’re not married. Not yet, at least, but I do see myself marrying your mother one day. I wanted to speak to you about something, though.”
“About what?” Sierra asks as she touches her pumpkin tart. It’s still quite warm, so she lets go of the tart and blows on it with her mouth.
“Since you’re here, I thought you might like to pick out things for your room. The one you’re in right now isn’t yours. It’s the extra bedroom. Yours is down the hall, but nothing is there. I thought you might want to pick a color, and maybe you and your mother can decorate it the way you like it.”
Sierra’s eyes widen with happiness, and she can’t keep her smile back. “Really? I get to choose everything in my room?”
I nod. “Yes, you do… if you want to.”
“I’d love to! I’ve never even had a bed to myself before… so this is a lot. I feel like a princess! Like in one of the movies Mom and I watched on the way here.” Emily and Sierra spent a lot of time watching Disney movies on the flight over here. It was obvious Sierra had never even seen one of them before, and she thought every movie was magical and beautiful. Now that she’s with her mother and me, she’ll never have to fight for anything else in her life. She won’t be spoiled, but she will have things provided for her, just as she should. We have a lot of time to make up for, and even though Sierra is with us now, I know her mother still has an undeniable guilt that plagues her.
A set of footsteps coming down the stairs causes us to turn, and Emily walks into the kitchen. “What is that? It smells delicious.”
“Dad made pumpkin tarts,” Sierra’s quick to tell her, but Emily knows damn well I didn’t make them. That would be the café Amelia and Emily go to that made them.
