Free Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation) by RaeLynn Fry Page A

hair. I shouldn't have said that and the fire in Karis' eyes tells me that she agrees. How did this fight get out of so out of control, so fast? It's like anytime we talk to each other, it's either emotionless or heated with an angry passion. “Let’s not fight. We’ll only say something we’ll regret.”
    “You mean, you don’t regret anything you’ve said so far?” She narrows her eyes.
    I sigh again. “Come on, people are showing up.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Karis
     
    I’m late to the meeting, again, and I can only hope Ethan is distracted enough he doesn't notice. But, he's well aware of my presence when I try to slip through the door unnoticed. He's probably been looking for me, waiting for me to get here.
    I try to hide my breathlessness at rushing to be on time. We exchange a few words, share a pleasant but awkward kiss, and then fight. Our basic routine, as of late.
    There are more people here tonight than there have been the past few meetings. It’s not a large number, about a dozen or so, but I'm still impressed; even if I feel these meetings are only us spinning our wheels. I'm glad for the good turnout, though, because this has been weighing on Ethan’s mind heavily. He takes Neech’s lack of involvement personally. Plus, if the rebellion is successful enough to keep Ethan busy, then I'm free to do what I need to do without trying to keep Ethan away.
    I can’t tell if he’s happy tonight or if he just feels he needs to prove himself. His words are louder. Stronger. His true passion is showing. I stand there, at his side, like the dutiful second hand man, nodding when appropriate to show my support; all while scanning the crowd, trying to get a good read on what the majority feeling is.
    There are a lot of heads nodding and whisperings of agreement to neighbors. But I also see a few people—near the back—waving their hands at Ethan's words, swatting them away, and throwing in with the occasional boo . But at least they aren't leaving. We may be able to win them over, yet.
    “Isn't that right, Karis?” Ethan's elbow jabs me in the ribs.
    I look up at him, confused, absently rubbing at my bruising bones. The meeting has bolted in the opposite direction it had been going. Everyone looks stressed and angry. Ethan isn't as confident as he was before. He’s pleading with them now. What did I miss? What happened?
    His face strains and his eyes show a bit of disappointment when I answer him with a confused look. He quickly sweeps it away and carries on as if my not paying attention doesn't come as a blow.
    “The Corporation needs to be shown that they can't take advantage of us…” He tries to regain his footing in the meeting.
    As much as I want to focus on what he’s saying, my attention is snagged towards the back of the room when someone new enters through the back. A short, squat man squeezes his tubby midsection through the door and finds an empty seat in the back. Ethan's words a buzz in my ear. I narrow my eyes and peer through the dim light, trying to make out who would be coming in so late.
    I can barely make out the whites of his eyes as they dart back and forth. He walks through the thin crowd in the back, his movements jittery and jerky—like he's nervous—and his shoulder and hip drag against the wall as he makes his way forward. The closer he gets to Ethan and me, the more his features become familiar. I know him, but it's taking my brain a moment to reconcile the reality of where I know him from. It’s impossible.
    The last time I saw this man flashes across my mind. I was hot and disoriented, lying in the weeds by my house in the middle of the night. He was being hauled through the streets by two Guards. His wife and daughter were dead in the street. No one has seen Raj Verna since that night.
    My skin prickles with awareness at the sight of him. The Corporation doesn't just let people go . Unless it serves a bigger purpose for them.
    Raj slinks down a row of chairs and