Crude Intentions

Chapter 4: The Rival’s Play

Garrett Cole let out a loud, barking laugh, the sound grating against the steady hum of his dually’s engine. He leaned against his truck door, crossing his arms over his chest, completely unfazed by the billionaire’s threat.

"Big words for a guy standing in a ditch missing a shoe," Garrett sneered, his eyes dropping to Theo’s mud-soaked sock before flicking back up. "You might own the skyline in Houston, Vance, but out here? Your money don't mean a damn thing to the mud, and it sure as hell can't buy Apex Energy. We’re well aware of who holds the cards on the Henderson tract."

Theo didn't move a muscle, but the air around him turned instantly frigid. Despite being covered in clay, stripped of his designer jacket, and standing unevenly in the dirt, he radiated an absolute, terrifying authority. He didn't look like a businessman anymore; he looked like a predator marking his territory.

"I won't tell you again, Cole," Theo said, his voice a low, vibrating warning. "Step back."

Garrett’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, intimidated despite himself by the sheer malice in Theo’s eyes. But he quickly recovered, shifting his gaze to Charlie, trying to bypass the billionaire entirely.

"Come on, Charlie," Garrett said, his tone dropping into a slick, manipulative drawl. "Why are you wasting your time protecting a corporate shark who’d lease his own mother if the margins were right? Apex knows your worth. We know about the title defect, too. Skip the paperwork with Vance. Work with me, and I’ll make sure your brokerage gets a double override on the entire block."

He took a step toward her, his hand reaching out as if to casually grab her arm and pull her away from Theo’s side.

He never got the chance.

In a blur of motion, Theo bridged the distance. He grabbed Garrett by the collar of his shirt, slamming the rival landman back against the side of his own lifted truck with a sickening thud. The sheer violence of the movement left Garrett breathless, his boots scraping against the gravel as Theo held him pinned, leaning into his space.

"Touch her," Theo whispered, his face inches from Garrett’s, his dark eyes flashing with a dangerous, untamed rage, "and I will personally ensure you never work a leasehold in the state of Texas again. I will ruin you, Cole. I will break your company, blackball your name, and leave you with nothing but the dirt under your fingernails. Do you understand me?"

Charlie’s breath hitched in her throat. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a wild, chaotic rush of adrenaline flooding her veins. She had never seen a man shift from calculating CEO to violently protective alpha so fast. It was terrifying—and entirely exhilarating.

Garrett choked, his face turning crimson as he stared into the eyes of a billionaire who looked entirely capable of murder. "Let... go," he gasped out.

Charlie stepped forward, her landman instincts finally kicking back in through the shock. "Theo, let him go," she ordered, her voice firm. "He’s not worth the assault charge."

Theo held Garrett for one more agonizing second, his fingers dug deep into the fabric of the man's shirt, before he shoved him away with pure disgust. Garrett stumbled, clutching his throat, coughing as he backed toward his driver's side door.

"You're both crazy," Garrett spat, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and fear as he climbed into his high cab. He rolled down the window, glaring down at them with a venomous smirk. "Enjoy the walk back to town, Vance. While you two are playing hero in a ditch, my team is already meeting the Henderson heirs at the local diner in town. We found the family trust. We're signing the top leases tonight. Vance Energy is officially locked out of Goliad."

With a roar of his engine, Garrett slammed the truck into reverse, spinning his tires and throwing a massive wave of black mud directly at them before tearing down the road, his taillights disappearing into the gray drizzle.

Charlie wiped a stray speck of mud from her cheek, her mind instantly racing through the legal ramifications of what Garrett had just said. If Apex signed those heirs to a top lease, Theo’s multi-million-dollar project was dead in the water, and her local families would be locked into a predatory contract.

She turned to Theo. He was standing in the middle of the road, his white shirt ruined, his chest rising and falling with heavy, controlled breaths. The protective rage in his eyes hadn't faded; it had just shifted focus.

He looked at her, his gaze intense enough to burn right through her.

"How far is that diner?" Theo demanded, stepping closer until he was towering over her once more.

"Three miles down this road," Charlie said, her throat tight as she looked at her sunken truck. "But we're stranded, Theo. My truck is buried, and we have no ride."

Theo reached out, his large, warm hand gripping the back of her neck, his thumb resting right against her pulsing vein. The proximity was sudden, suffocating, and entirely electric.

"Then we walk," Theo murmured, his voice a low, fierce promise that sent a shiver straight down her spine. "And if your boots give out, Charlie, I’ll carry you. But nobody takes what's mine."