An arm drops around her shoulder, pulling her in tightly—possessively—and my attention locks on it, the watch on its wrist glinting under the industrial lights.
I know without even seeing clearly that there’s a scar on that hand. One that matches mine from when we were eight and became blood brothers, slicing lines into our palms and smashing them together.“We’ll choose each other over everything and everyone. Forever.”
Arthur Penngrove.
The mayor’s son, and my best friend since birth.
What the hell is he doing bringing some woman down here?
Pain explodes against my jaw, like someone blasted a firework behind my eyes. My face snaps to the side, teeth clacking hard enough I taste blood, the metallic flavor blooming like rust on my tongue.
Fuck.
I surge forward, sending a quick jab, and he grunts, his head flying to the right, red spraying across the deeply stained concrete beneath our feet.
Cheers erupt.
Shit.I was too heavy-handed.
The lights flicker more aggressively now, so much so that even my opponent glances up. Just for a moment, the thought of defying them flickers in my mind. But as quickly as it comes, I quash it.
I don’t have a choice. So I drop my hands, just slightly.
Hesitate just long enough.
Leave an opening.
One hit.
Then another.
I go down on the third.
Fight, dog, fight.
The People’s Prince Turns Heads With HillPoint Grab
Arthur Penngrove: a name Rosebrook Falls loves. A name they trust.
And this week, that name landed squarely on HillPoint.
In a move that has half the town whispering and the other half pretending they’re not, Arthur has taken control of the Round Table Tavern after the previous owner defaulted on a loan tied to none other than Frederick Lawrence.
The deal was quiet. The impact was not.
One of Montgomery territory’s most recognizable landmarks is now Calloway-aligned, and to say people have noticed is putting it mildly.
Arthur insists the acquisition was “entirely aboveboard,” a phrase that’s been repeated often enough to sound rehearsed. Still, few are questioninghimso much as the timing.
Mayor Penngrove wasted no time backing his son, praising Arthur’s “business sense” and his respect for the Round Table’s legacy.
That hasn’t stopped whispers about the WayMont Compact, the agreement that’s kept Calloway and Montgomery ownership in carefulbalance for decades. The mayor’s office pointed to clauses allowing private sales and emphasized, again, that the mayor himself isn’t bound by any family arrangement, nor is his son.
For now, the Round Table has a new hand at the helm, and Arthur Penngrove’s star shows no signs of dimming.
TheRagwill be watching. You can count on it.
#RoundTableTakeover #HillPointWhispers #WayMontWatch #CallowayAligned #TerritoryTensions #RagExclusive
