Exposed by Lily Cahill Read Free Book Online

talking low. He had a coat slung over his arm and held a briefcase, ready to leave for the day. His smile was easy, confident, and it settled June’s racing heart. “Cora and I spoke more.”
    June’s stomach sank. She’d known of this new power for, what, a single day? And she’d already started thinking of horrible things to do with it. Cora and Clayton had been so eager to explore their powers, to learn more … but June wasn’t sure she should .
    Clayton, however, didn’t seem to notice her reluctance. He peered around and then kept whispering. “We were all in that fog … and now. There must be others affected like us, and I—Cora and I—think we should meet and figure out why this is happening to us. We were hoping you’d help.”
    “I don’t know, Clay.”
    Clayton frowned, and June’s stomach twisted at the disappointment she’d caused. June suspected he’d thought this conversation would go an entirely different way. “Is something wrong?”
    June sighed deeply. “I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she admitted. Overwhelmed, and scared of what she was considering doing before Clayton interrupted. 
    The wall clock chimed two times—her shift was over. June reached for her purse tucked under her teller station. Her hand hit Ivan’s jacket folded neatly underneath. She’d completely forgotten to get it to his brother during lunch. She’d have to hurry to catch him now before the market closed. That just made the sense of being overwhelmed grow.
    “Can I get you my answer later? I need …,” she started walking away. “I just need a moment.” 
    She didn’t wait for Clayton’s response. Anxiety trembled through her, constricted her chest and compelled her on. She hurried to the bathroom and splashed water on her cheeks. She looked tired, her skin pale and her eyes dull. She needed to get a handle on this new power. Figure out what was happening to her before she let it overcome her and she did something awful. 
    June pulled out her lipstick, hoping a bit of routine would shake her out of whatever was taking hold. Then something silky brushed against her fingertips.
    It was the flower from last night. The lovely bloom from Ivan that she’d tucked into her purse and forgotten.
    June stared at the flower, gently touched the petals. Her heart calmed, her breathing returned to normal. She concentrated on the lovely flower, centered her attention. It was still perfect, the leaves plump and the petals velvety. 
    On a whim, June slid the stem through the button hole on her jacket lapel, an idea forming in her mind. Maybe if she planted a garden herself, she could do the work her mother planned to hire out. Maybe that would keep her mother’s spending in check. It was just the beginning of a notion, but it was something to hold on to. Something that would hopefully stop her from letting those wrong, illegal thoughts of earlier from invading her mind again.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
    Ivan
     
    Ivan shifted back and forth on his feet. He’d been at the Sokolov stall since nine that morning, and his muscles twitched. They ached to run or drive the horses or chop wood. Anything to escape the perpetual standing. 
    Standing and staring out over the shoppers who refused to buy from his family since the sickness. How dumb they all were, how consumed with baseless fear. If they knew just what had happened after that sickness—Ivan’s power had manifested the day he’d come home from the make-shift infirmary, which couldn’t be coincidence—then they’d really be afraid.
    But would they finally have to admit it wasn’t the Soviets who had attacked? Why would America’s enemy give American citizens special powers? Yet after years of living in Independence Falls, Ivan was certain even knowing the truth wouldn’t stop some of these people from blaming his family, his heritage.
    And so he was here. After nearly six hours of standing in a market stall, he’d barely made a dent in the boxes of