Page 68 of The Innovator

“Let me show you.” He grabbed a piece of paper and drew an abstraction of the portals he created in his Level Three game. “My theme is the power of illusion. The windows are portals. They’re all different, and each one leads to a different world. Once the player enters the new world, it becomes a replica of their reality, but skewed. Some are upside down and others are parallel universes.”

“That sounds incredible. I want to play.”

He angled his head in surprise. “Do you play video games?”

“No, but this sounds interesting, and since you created it, I want to learn. I can give you feedback on the attire for your players.”

His face brightened. “You read my mind. I’d love your thoughts on the clothing and accessories.”

A vicious boom shook the ground as a flash of lightning sparked outside the window. The electricity went out, and darkness surrounded me. I dropped the magazine as panic mode set in.

Shit. Please, no.

My breathing became difficult, and I trembled uncontrollably.

I tried to breathe in and out, attempting to calm myself, but nothing worked. Why did I have to panic right now? In front of Grayson?

Embarrassment and shame flooded me. Of all things, they should be the least of my worries, but I couldn’t stop the emotions. I didn’t want him to see me broken and weak like this. I wanted him to see me as perfect.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Curling into a ball, I wrapped my arms around my legs, pressing my face into the couch, and closing my eyes tight.

“Natalie, what’s wrong?” he asked in a calm voice. “What do you need?”

“Light,” I whispered. “Please turn on the light.”

“Okay. I’ll get some candles.” He stroked my hair before he left.

I kept my eyes closed as I heard him shuffling around. Though the eerie sounds that used to overwhelm me weren’t present today, my body remembered the trauma. I hated myself for not being able to fight it.

Seconds later, Grayson returned. “You can open your eyes now.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO

GRAYSON

Concern overwhelmed me as I gathered Natalie’s quivering body into my arms. I felt helpless, and I hated that. She looked pale and vulnerable, and I desperately wanted to know what triggered this panic in her.

Natalie opened her eyes, glanced at the three candles illuminating the room, and extracted herself from me.

Embarrassment flashed over her face. “Sorry about that.”

“What did I say earlier? Never apologize for something that’s troubling you.”

She blew out a breath, still looking distraught.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Water, please.”

Trying to hold my emotions in check, I got up and studied her for a moment. There was more to her story, and she didn’t trust me enough to share everything. That bothered me.

Patience, Grayson. You have things you haven’t told her either.

“I’m going to turn on the generator too. Be right back.”

It didn’t take me long to activate the high-end generator I’d installed a couple of years ago after experiencing a similar situation. It had also been a thunderstorm that day, but I’d been alone. Now, I had Natalie.

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