Blood Revealed Read Online Free Page B

That was all they were interested in.
    Also from his discreet dipping into minds, Dominic knew that they were highly cynical about what was to come. They were wondering if their time was about to be wasted in a massive way. If that happened, Nial’s people here today would be skewered by the media and hung out to dry. They didn’t appreciate being messed with.
    Oh, they are in for a surprise! Dominic thought.
    He set up the laptop on the table in front of the microphones. The laptop was hooked into a network that Sebastian had set up. The screen would let the four of them coordinate their announcement with London, Sydney, Washington, St. Petersburg and Delhi.
    He fired up the laptop and called up the application that would display the five other conference rooms, then arrayed the feeds across the laptop screen so all of them could be seen at once. There were people moving about in front of the remote cameras, busy setting up just as he was.
    As he worked, in the back of his mind Dominic gave thanks for Sebastian’s willingness to teach him a new trade. He had learned more in the last year about computers and the subdued artistry of a live network than he had thought could possibly exist.
    That was what he was now, he thought, as he finished setting up. He was a computer hacker, one of thousands. It gave him a warm glow of belonging, at the same time he felt the usual dollop of regret for what might have been.
    When the interviewees stepped out onto the low dais and the media straightened up and cameras began to snap, Dominic moved well out of the way to a dark corner where he would not be noticed and settled in to watch.
    * * * * *
    The Ritz Hotel, London, United Kingdom
    The blazing camera lights created pockets of dark shadows. Marcus found one and put his back against the wall. He watched as Rick and Ilaria stepped out from the small green room the hotel had found them, following the distinguished gentleman in front of them.
    Ilaria glowed. She was wearing a multihued dress that seemed to be made up of blues and greens and the dusky brown that played well against her skin and made the most of her eyes. Marcus forced himself to pull his gaze away from her in order to look around the room and try to measure the media’s reaction.
    There was a low murmur of surprise and interest as they recognized the man with the silvered sideburns who was leading Rick and Ilaria over to the table.
    “Sir Stephens-Bowes,” Marcus heard someone mutter. “What the hell?”
    He kept his face expressionless even though a grin lit up his insides. They had fielded dozens of irate media calls demanding to know why they were being summoned to the Ritz, accompanied by veiled threats that if their time was being wasted they would rue the day. It was good to be able to surprise them in return.
    James Stephens-Bowes stepped up behind the centralized microphones, while Rick and Ilaria stood behind him and to either side.
    Rick looked calm and icily self-contained, as he always did when he was in public and Marcus marveled once more over his control. In the early hours of the morning, when Ilaria had been busy doing something that took her out of the room, Marcus had finally been able to get Rick to confess his fear over the upcoming revelation. He had spent dozens of human life-times keeping himself hidden, his true nature buried. In the next few hours all that was about to change. And despite the best political and analytical minds trying to figure it out, the vampires still were not entirely sure how humans would react to them.
    Marcus admired Rick’s courage and a warm glow touched his chest as he realized he was probably the only one anywhere on the globe permitted to know that much about Rick, to see his vulnerabilities.
    Then he saw Ilaria reach out and grip Rick’s hand and squeeze it gently and knew he was not the only one after all.
    The room fell silent except for the sound of clicking cameras as Stephens-Bowes began to speak.
    * * * *