Born Wicked

BORN WICKED BLOOD ROSE NIGHTS BOOK FOUR KEARY TAYLOR CONTENTS Also by Keary Taylor Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Also by Keary Taylor About the Author Copyright © 2023 Keary Taylor All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author. First Edition: January 2023 Cover art by Trif Book Design The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Taylor, Keary, 1987- Born Wicked (Blood Rose Nights): a novel / by Keary Taylor. – 1st ed. ALSO BY KEARY TAYLOR THE BLOOD DESCENDANTS UNIVERSE House of Royals Saga House of Royals House of Pawns House of Kings House of Judges House of Ravens Garden of Thorns Trilogy Garden of Thorns Garden of Snakes Garden of Graves Crown of Death Saga Crown of Death Crown of Blood Crown of Ruin Crown of Bones Blood Rose Nights Born Reckless Born Savage Born Chaos Born Wicked PARALLEL VERSE GUARDIANS A Shadow in the Light A Glimmer in the Night A Spark in the Ash RESURRECTING MAGIC SERIES Rise of the Mage Keeper of the Lost Shadow of the Locked Academy of the Found THE FALL OF ANGELS TRILOGY Branded Forsaken Vindicated Afterlife (the novelette companion to Vindicated) Returned (ten year anniversary follow up) THE EDEN TRILOGY The Raid (An Eden Short Story) The Bane The Human The Ashes (an Eden Short Story) The Eve THE NERON RISING SAGA Neron Rising Neron Skies Nero Awakening Nero Blood Nero Nights Neron Wars Nero Kingdom THREE HEART ECHO TO LOVE A McCAIN Ever After Drake Moments of Julian Depths of Lake Playing it Kale WHAT I DIDN’T SAY Also by T.L. Keary (thriller/suspense pen name) OUR LAST CONFESSION SKIN AND BONE CHAPTER ONE I knew it was bad. I watched the video footage of it myself. But standing here in the wreckage is… stark. It’s so easy to remember the good times. To recall how we flirted on the couch. How he lifted me up onto the counter and pressed himself between my legs. How we spent days sleeping in that bed, even if we weren’t having sex. We spent so much time in this space making plans for our future. But as I look around at the ransacked apartment, it is so very, very clear. That future is gone. Shattered, just like the screen of my laptop and the dishes splintered across the floor. Damn you, Sebastian, I think to myself as I step across a smashed glass dish and cross into the kitchen. I open the cupboard under the sink and pull out the trash bags. Last year, it was Sebastian whom I called to come help me move into this very apartment. I needed out of Mason’s penthouse. Because just like this space, he and I didn’t have a future. Sebastian had offered, and when I asked, he came. I loaded my things into trash bags, drawing a laugh from him. We’d carried my things in bags to this same space. Life has a cruel symmetry sometimes. Now, I turn and walk to the bedroom with trash bags yet again. I begin stuffing those same clothes into different trash bags. The hope I once felt when I first walked into this apartment is gone. It evaporated the same day Sebastian tore through every one of my belongings, looking for clues to find me. Even though I lived here for six months, I still don’t actually own much more than I did before I came here. In a matter of thirty minutes, I have all of my clothes packed up. I have all of my bathroom things bagged. The only other thing in this apartment that was mine is my laptop, and Sebastian hurtled that against a wall. Just as I’m finishing, I hear the slight creak of the front door. A few moments later, Roman steps into the bedroom, followed by the most unexpected miracle ever: my biological father, Jon Bonny. There’s a hard look on my father’s face. His eyes cast around the wrecked space. He’s never met Sebastian. Hasn’t ever gotten to have words with him. But it’s how he found me. Mine and Sebastian’s engagement announcement made the news, and Jon saw it in a newspaper. Jon and I have only known each other for a few weeks. We never got that chance to have a traditional relationship. He didn’t get to raise me. I never got to call him daddy, or run to him in tears when I scraped my knee. But from the look in Jon’s eyes, I think maybe he’d like to kill Sebastian if he ever got the chance, because of what the man did. “What do you want me to start with?” Roman asks. He doesn’t dwell on the wreckage. We’ve already gone through the dregs of this ugly reality. I appreciate his directness in the moment. “Just these here,” I say, indicating the ten tied-off bags sitting on the bed. Roman simply nods, tucks one bag under his arm, and grabs two more with the other hand. Without any other words, he heads out the door, hauling them down the elevator to his waiting SUV. “Juliet,” Jon says, a groan laced with anger following my name. “Don’t,” I say, shaking my head. “I already know. It’s bad. It’s really damn bad. But it’s over. I’m moving on. Please try to do the same.” I grab two bags from the bed and walk to the door. Maybe I’m being too hard, too blunt. The man obviously cares.