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Experiencing all of this shows me just how connected the Umarova family is and how being with them will keep my girls and me safe. I didn’t see it as much until now. Sure, I’ve known Nazyr was important, that he handled business in the crime world, but I didn’t understand just how broad his family’s reach is.
I do understand it now because I’ve seen it first-hand. I thought, at some point, their family’s connections would run out. For instance, I know they’re a Chechen family, but I didn’t once think that their power could spread across multiple countries the way it does. Some women might find it terrifying, but I’m not like other women. I understand that having someone who’s dangerous in your corner can very well be one of the greatest things.
No one will ever mess with my children or me, not if they know I’m with Nazyr. Knowing that eases so many of my anxieties about being hurt again.
We’re on a plane right now with Inez, Lom, and a couple people from Lom’s security team. Otherwise, the girls are here, too, but they’re passed out next to each other under a blanket on the couch. I’ve always loved watching them sleep. The girls have clung to one another ever since my youngest was born. I’m grateful for it, and I hope they keep their sisterly bond until they’re as old as I am now, plus some.
“I’m sure my brother sounded petrified on the phone when you told him I was shot. Didn’t he?” Lom asks, and I think back to the conversation I had with Nazyr.
“I wouldn’t say petrified, but he was worried, yes.”
Lom ended up receiving medical attention when we were at the building his driver took us to. While he was, in fact, shot in the chest, he was very lucky that the bullet didn’t hit any major arteries or pierce his heart. If either of those things had happened, I don’t know if I could’ve lived with myself. I would’ve been the reason Lom died or was severely injured, and I don’t know if I could have handled it.
“And you’ve updated them that I made it out of surgery okay?” Lom questions me, and he’s smiling bigger than I’ve ever seen him do in the past.
He might have forgotten already, but he’s on some pretty heavy pain medication which I’m sure is messing with him. He seems a bit more bubbly. He isn’t a callous person in general, but let’s just say he’s letting loose a lot more right now.
“Yes, I did. Everyone knows you’re well and you’ve been taken care of. The pilot said we were going to land within the hour. Is anyone from the family going to be at the airport?”
Nazyr isn’t going to be there. That much I already know. He said he was staying in the United Kingdom for a couple of days while he tied up a couple of loose ends. I figured he’d be back in Grozny when I arrived with the children, so hearing he wasn’t going to be there made me a little bit sad.
I want him to see my girls face to face and officially meet them. I also want to thank him properly for his willingness to go to such great lengths. I told him when we spoke earlier that I loved him, and he said it back. I couldn’t believe I told him that over the phone, but I’m not upset about it. If anything, I’m glad it’s out and in the open because I was worried he wouldn’t reciprocate my feelings just yet. I knew it would lead there eventually, but I’m over the moon that he feels so strongly about me right now.
I’ve never felt the way I do for anyone. It makes me think Nazyr might be it for me, that he could be the man I spend the rest of my life with. I really hope I’m not wrong, and I hope that we can stick with each other through thick and thin like we’ve been doing.
“I’m sure Emily will be there to welcome us,” Lom slurs, smiling brightly.
He’s so doped up from the medication, and it causes me to laugh. I try not to laugh too hard at him, but he’s been doing the silliest things over the course of this flight.
For the next hour, everything goes smoothly. I end up falling asleep for most of it, catching up on some much-needed rest. I wake up in time for the pilot to tell us that we need to buckle our seatbelts, so I get the girls and place them in their seats, buckling them in. Vanina sits next to Lom, and her eyes go wide, scared because there’s such a change in what’s going on. Lom grabs onto her hand and starts talking sweetly to her while I have my arm around Ira. Ira doesn’t seem phased by any of this and is giggling the entire time, which is such a drastic difference from what her sister’s experiencing.
We land safely, and after a few minutes, we exit the plane. Sure enough, there’s a blacked-out SUV not too far away from where we landed. Emily’s standing outside of it, while there’s a man dressed in all black next to her. Lom is somehow walking off the plane while his driver is sticking close to his side.
The rest of the security team and Inez are waiting for the next SUV to arrive. Once that comes, the security team members will head back to their assigned locations, from what I understand. It even looks like some of the additional hands the Umarova family hired for extracting my daughters are going to end up staying with them. Inez is going to be staying at an apartment around the corner from the house I share with Nazyr. I still need to tell him about Inez, but I think that’s a conversation I can wait to have until I see him in person.
Vanina is walking beside me, and I have Ira in my arms.
“Lom, God, you scared the daylights out of me!” Emily tells her almost-husband, and Lom laughs at her.
“He’s pretty messed up from the pain meds,” I chime in with a smirk, and Emily shakes her head.
“Fine, we’ll have to talk about serious things later. I’m just so glad you made it back home to me,” Emily tells Lom, and he takes a couple more steps and then kisses her on the lips.
“I’m always going to make it home to you. Never forget that. Never forget that I will do whatever is in my power to come back to my family.” Jesus, this could be in a bloody romance flick.
One thing I’m really learning about this family is that they love their women, and they love them hard. These men are dedicated as can be. They’re never the type that will cheat, disrespect, or do anything else atrocious to their women because their women are their entire worlds. It might be too soon for me to say that about Nazyr, but I do think I will become his entire world at some point.
“I’m under strict orders to take you back to Nazyr’s house,” Emily says, and I’m a bit relieved.
I want to get the girls in the house so they can get settled. It’s been one hell of a day for them, but who am I kidding? It’s been one hell of a day for me too.
“Perfect. I’m sure the girls are tired,” I respond, and almost like she’s a paid actress, Ira yawns.
“Awe, it looks that way. All right, let’s get you all home,” Emily suggests, and we pile into the SUV. The car seats are in the third-row seating, and there’s a spot between them, so once I get the girls settled, I sit between the two of them. Lom’s driver and Lom get inside, and then Emily and her driver are the last two who fill up the SUV. I’m sure the other people on the security team will have their own arrangements to get back to wherever they need to be.
The drive from the airport takes about twenty minutes, but it’s a blissful ride. There’s hardly any traffic, and once we arrive in front of Nazyr’s home—which I guess is technically now my home as well—we all get out of the vehicle. Emily has her arm around Lom, and I walk inside with the girls, everyone following me.
Lom and Emily head for the sitting room on the first floor, and I’m certain they’re not going to want him going up any stairs anytime soon.
