Sanctum: A Dark Bratva Arranged Marriage Romance (Wicked Vows)

I WAKE the next morning to the sound of laughter. Harper’s out of bed, and I don’t have to look far to see where she’s gone. I stretch my arms out above my head and sigh.

Last night was a long, long night and I’m so damn ready to be done with this shit. So ready.

I close my eyes and give myself a rare moment to appreciate the peace. I made damn certain that no one who hurt Harper is ever going to interfere in her life again. I gave her the level of protection she deserved long, long ago.

And while she can’t live in a bubble, on my watch, she’ll have everything she wants. I hear a beep on my phone. I don’t want to work today. I don’t want to give Mikhail the rundown, or find out what else happened after the gala last night. I don’t want to do anything but enjoy this peaceful time with Ivy and Harper. Alone. Where no one can interfere. I love my family, but sometimes I need a little break.

After everything we’ve been through… I slip my phone in a drawer and close it. If it’s Mikhail, he’ll give me shit, but I don’t fucking care right now.

“Let’s go see if Daddy is up.”

Daddy. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to hearing that. I pretend I’m asleep by pulling the covers up over my head and snoring so loudly they both giggle when they enter the room.

I feel the blanket pulled off of my face and squeeze my eyes shut tight with another loud snore.

“That’s too bad Daddy’s asleep,” Harper says in her distinctive voice. “We have the most delicious tea party set up, and it’s a shame that he⁠—’

My eyes fly open, and I leap out of bed. “Tea party? Why didn’t you say so?”

Ivy giggles. “Come on,” she says, reaching for my hand and tugging. I’m only wearing pajama pants, and Harper wears a T-shirt and a tank, but Ivy has a robe on over her pajamas and fluffy white bunny slippers on her feet, her adorable, blonde hair tousled. I go into her room to find a tea party set up for three with a plate of cookies and actual tea in the pot.

“How long have you been up? “

“About an hour, sleepyhead.”

“I had hard work to do last night.”

“Well then, have a cookie and some tea. Maybe it will help you to get some sustenance.”

I sit at the little table, afraid that I’ll break the chair, but Harper shakes her head.

“Don’t worry, I read the reviews. I made sure that these chairs were sturdy enough for fully grown men to sit on.’

Excellent. ‘You think of everything. But who said you could have cookies for breakfast?’ I ask Ivy.

She points her finger at Harper. ‘Mama.’

Harper shrugs. ‘Oatmeal raisin. It’s practically like eating a bowl of oatmeal.’

I pretend to be disapproving but take the largest one I can find, studded with raisins and cranberries and walnuts. I take a big bite. ‘Delicious. Where did these come from?’

‘Polina said you have a friend here whose family owns a bakery or something? From Boston? She said something about them needing to talk with you, but I told her that you needed a little time to rest…”

The only friends I know that have bakeries in Boston are the Rossis.

“Mario?”

Harper shakes her head. ‘No, not a he, Aleks. She.’

“She who?’

She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

Maybe I do need to check that phone.

There’s a knock on the door. ‘You guys in there?’ Mikhail.

‘Come in.’

He steps into the room, holding the baby over his shoulder and stops short when he sees me, bare chested, wearing pajama pants, holding a dinky cup of tea in one hand and an oatmeal cookie in the other.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ he says in a voice that tells me he’s not at all sorry for interrupting. He smirks. “Brother, I am taking a picture of that and using it as blackmail.’

I shrug. ‘Men have tea parties, a—’ I stop myself from swearing, right in the middle of it. Harper gives me a look, and Mikhail’s smirk deepens. ‘You’ll get used to not swearing all the time.’

‘Baby sleeping?’ Harper says, getting to her feet. We haven’t told anybody that she’s expecting, but we will. I will relish delivering the news.

“He is,” Mikhail says. “Aria has been at work all night, which is why she’s been texting you all morning, Aleksandr.’

My full name. Hmm.

‘She’s resting now, so I took the baby for a bit. We take turns,’ he says to Harper as if to explain it. As if he wants her to understand that he isn’t some kind of Neanderthal that expects that women’s work is about childcare.

“Oh, he’s precious,” she coos. “Just wook at that wittle face.”

‘Thank you.’ He pats the baby’s little diaper-clad bottom. I guess it’s easy to look like a good dad when your baby weighs less than a sack of potatoes and can fit over your shoulder.”

“Maybe it’s time to tell him, Harper?’

“You really can’t let him have his minute, can you?” she asks, her tone amused.

“Nope.”

Mikhail looks at the two of us curiously, while Ivy pours more tea and promptly spills half of it onto the table. I go to the bathroom to get a towel to mop it all up, and when I come back, she has three cookies in her hand. Maybe this isn’t the best breakfast idea, but she’ll live.

“Are you going to tell me or what?”

‘We’re pulling ahead.’

His eyes are flashing at me. ‘Do you mean to tell me – ‘

“Yep. Ivy’s going to be a big sister.”

“Congrats,” he says with a grin. “This is a contest I don’t mind losing.”

I take a big bite of a cookie. I’m starving. ‘Now why is one of the Rossis here, and what was Aria doing all night?’

Mikhail looks thoughtful. ‘You guys should get dressed and come downstairs. Probably better for us all to talk at the same time.’

Huh.

A few minutes later, we go downstairs. As soon as Polina sees Ivy, she sweeps her up in her arms and sits her on her lap and hands her a bottle of juice shaped like a Disney princess. They make the strangest things for kids.

“Alright, what’s going on?” I pour a cup of coffee for Harper before I pour myself a cup. Wordlessly, I slide two sugars and two creams in it, then hand it to her. She smiles and nods her thanks.

‘Impressive,’ Nikko says.

‘What?’

‘You know how she takes her coffee. You got hers first. Who are you?”

‘A happily married man. Shut up. Are you going to tell me or what?”

The door to the kitchen opens and Mom comes out arm in arm with none other than Marialena Rossi. I haven’t seen her in ages, not since we visited Boston years ago.

“Marialena! Harper, this is Mario’s sister Marialena. Marialena, this is my wife, Harper.” It’ll never fail to make my chest swell with pride calling her that.

Harper smiles and extends her hand. “Nice to meet you.’

‘Oh, my God,” Marialena says, staring at Harper with wide, beautiful, brown eyes. ‘Nikko showed me the footage of you shooting. You are amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it, even in the movies.’

Harper blushes a little bit.

‘She is amazing,’ I say. “What are you doing here?’

Aria enters next, holding a laptop. Her glasses are perched on her nose, and she looks like she just woke up, her clothes all rumpled. ‘Marialena happened to be in the area, she’s going to a convention.” She turns to Harper. ‘The Rossis own a little boutique in Boston, and sometimes they come here to New York to source their wares. She was here this weekend and I needed to talk with her. I needed to delve into family history.”

Family history. What the fuck?

Aria purses her lips at me. ‘You should check your texts once in a while, Aleksandr.’

I narrow my eyes at her.

‘Can’t I sleep in for once in my life?”

‘No,” they all say in unison. I throw my hands up in the air.

‘Go on. What were you gonna tell me?”

“The Bianchi family has a long history with the Rossis. You know that the Bianchis don’t like the Rossis, but the reason is because the Rossi family invested quite a sum of money in Harper’s dad’s business, and when it went up, they lost everything they invested.’ She turns to Harper. ‘What do you know about your dad’s business ventures?’

She shakes her head. ‘Not much. My father is Italian mafia, he came up under the belief that women didn’t have anything to do with business, so we were left ignorant about all of it.’

Marialena laughs out loud. ‘Girl, you and I need to have a chat.”

Harper smiles. ‘Maybe we do.’

Aria goes on. ‘The reason why your parents were penniless was because your dad had a gambling problem. He has a long history of borrowing money he doesn’t return, and recklessly borrowing his investors’ money in hopes of doubling his profits or more, but it never worked out. Your family has basically vanished off the face of the earth,’ she says with a sad shake of her head. ‘From what I’ve heard, and what I’ve seen, that’s probably not a bad thing.’

Harper looks pained, but relieved. “Agreed.”

‘Harper, the reason why your father borrowed money from the Rossi family is because they were distant relatives. In short, what I’m telling you is that you are related to the most powerful Italian mob in all of America. You are not just from the Bianchis. The Rossi family disowned the Bianchis because of your father, but he’s out of the picture now, so…’

Shit. Seriously? Harper’s eyes widen.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

‘You’re gonna like us,” Marialena says. ‘I mean we’re crazy Italians, so add mafia to the mix and forget it, but I’m telling you right now that we’re gonna love you, Harper. We’ve already told you, but I’m gonna say it again, welcome to the family. I have five siblings and a whole bunch of cousins and they’re all in Boston not far from here. You can come and visit anytime. We own restaurants and bakeries and all sorts of things.’

Harper stares. ‘But if my father was on the outs…’

Marialena waves her hand. “Believe me, my brother Romeo is way more concerned with solidifying connections with the Romanovs than he is with worrying about your father.”

My mother grins. ‘Good, it’s about time that we had some connections with people who know how to make pastry.” She winks at Harper.

‘And I’ll have you know, Harper,’ Marialena says, ‘my great-grandfather was an old, old man when I met him, and I was only a child, so I didn’t know him well, but I’ve been told by many people that he was one of the most skilled marksmen in all of Italy. People would come from all over just to see him.” She smiles. ‘It seems like your gift may have been inherited.”

Harper smiles but her eyes water. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional.” Ha, not many know the real reason yet. “I’m a little overwhelmed. I never had family like this before and I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say. Thank you.’

‘Tell me you’ll come shopping with me,’ Marialena says with a grin.

Harper grins back. “Consider it done.’