Blood Revealed Read Online Free Page A

managed.
    “You did well containing it,” Garrett pointed out. “I don’t think Dominic noticed anything.”
    Roman gave another small laugh. “He was too busy staring at the piano.”
    “It wasn’t just staring,” Patrick said. “It was much more intense than that. It was much more important to him than that.”
    Everyone was back to staring at him again, so he shrugged again, trying to pass it off as nothing important.
    Roman nodded. “Garrett’s right. If this really is the first time you felt this, then you did well keeping it contained.”
    Patrick coupled up the compliment with the implication behind it and felt his jaw sag a little bit. “You mean it’s always this intense, every time I find anyone even a little bit attractive?” The idea filled him with horror.
    Garrett and Roman exchanged glances. Now it was they who looked uncomfortable.
    “What am I missing?” Patrick demanded.
    “I think,” Kate said slowly, “that they’re both being guys and don’t want to tell you the yucky truth.”
    Roman crossed his arms defensively, in much the same way that Dominic had. The muscles on his arms rounded as he clenched his fists. “It’s only ever been that intense for me with two particular people.”
    Garrett studied Roman with an expression that seemed neutral, except that Patrick could see a strange warmth and softness about his eyes. Then he understood, with a flash of insight. “You’ve only felt it with Garrett and Kate,” he said softly.
    Roman rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, then gave a self-conscious little grin.
    Having being put in the spotlight once or twice this morning already, Patrick empathized with Roman’s awkwardness. So he shifted the subject. “I keep being astonished by how different Dominic looks, now.”
    Kate nodded. “It’s not like he’s run out and got a body’s worth of tattoos, or put on a ton of weight, or something like that. Yet I feel surprised every time I see him. Would regaining hearing make that much difference to a person?”
    Patrick found his gaze returning to the piano that stood innocently in the corner, the keys untouched and the instrument silent. “It just might make the difference,” he said. “I’ve seen it sometimes with actors, when they finally figure out the core of their character. Dominic has found his key.”
    “Key?” Roman repeated.
    “The key that unlocks a character, that lets an actor portray them completely and properly,” Kate said.
    “I think that whatever took away Dominic’s hearing also stirred up his self-identity. Now he has his hearing back, he’s finding himself again.”
    Garrett shook his head. “Except that no one ever gets to go back to what they were. There are always changes.”
    Kate picked up the clipboard, hesitated, then put it back down firmly on the cushion next to her. “So, Patrick, are you ready for tomorrow?”
    Patrick suppressed the sigh that wanted to emerge. He looked her in the eye and lied without a quiver. “Absolutely.”

Chapter Two
    The Lobby Level Ballroom, Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverley Hills
    Dominic had never been afraid of cameras, until now. It wasn’t exactly fear. Yet the highly-focused activity waving across the room as dozens of journalists and cameramen set up the gear, quietly talking to themselves, made him uneasy.
    He kept sidling away from the mass of bodies and equipment, over toward the fire escape door where the red light shone.
    It took him a while to realize what he was doing. At first, he simply felt fidgety. It was only when he realized he was continuously looking toward the fire escape door, that he knew what was bugging him.
    He silently laughed at himself. He only had to dip into the minds around him to know that he was absolutely the last person anyone would focus on in this room. The invitations to the press conferences had been phrased in such a way that the media had been compelled to come, to find out what this earth shattering news would be.