Crude Intentions

Chapter 10: The Local Leverage

Theo didn't back down. The Escalade’s engine idled with a low, menacing growl as he gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. The silent reflection of the patrol car's red-and-blue lights painted his sharp jawline in aggressive strokes of color.

"Stay in the car," Theo commanded, his voice dropping into that quiet, absolute register that brooked no argument. He reached for the door handle. "I’ll handle the deputy. A phone call to the Texas Department of Public Safety will have his badge before sunrise if he touches us."

"Theo, stop," Charlie said, reaching across the console to clamp her hand over his forearm. The hard muscle beneath his skin was rigid with tension. "This isn't Houston. You can't just throw corporate lawyers at a small-town deputy. You'll end up in a holding cell in town, and Garrett will win by default because we'll be locked up when the courthouse opens."

Theo turned his head, his dark eyes flashing with a dangerous, volatile heat. "I am not letting that piece of trash threaten you, Charlie. Or use the law to lock us out."

"He's bluffing," Charlie said, her unbothered landman calm cutting through the explosive tension in the cab. "And unlike him, I actually know who is holding the radar gun."

She popped her seatbelt, grabbed the printed Vance Energy deeds, and opened her door before Theo could stop her. The heavy, humid night air rushed into the vehicle, carrying the sharp scent of wet grass and distant ozone.

Theo muttered a dark curse, killed the engine, and stepped out right behind her. He didn't have his jacket or his expensive shoes—he was still in his clean gray t-shirt and slacks—but as he walked around the hood of the SUV, his towering presence immediately shifted the gravity of the yard. He stepped directly into her space, his shoulder brushing hers, a silent, broad-shouldered wall protecting her from the men on the porch.

"Hold it right there," the deputy called out, his hand resting heavily on the butt of his pistol as they crossed the gravel driveway. "Folks, I’ve got a report of a civil disturbance and criminal trespass on this property. I’m going to need you to step back to your vehicle."

"Morning, Deputy Danny," Charlie said smoothly, stopping just at the edge of the porch's yellow light. She offered a polite, completely casual smile. "I didn't know you were on the night shift. How's your momma's garden doing after all that rain?"

The deputy blinked, his authoritative posture faltering for a fraction of a second. He squinted through the mist. "Charlie? Charlie Schindler? What in the world are you doing out here at two in the morning?"

"I’m doing my job, Danny," she said, lifting the crisp, printed legal documents in her hand. "Which is more than I can say for Garrett here. He’s committing a fraud on your dispatch logs."

"Don't listen to her, officer," Garrett snapped, his slick voice cracking slightly with nerves as he looked at Theo. Theo was staring at him with a cold, predatory intensity that promised a violent reckoning the second the cop wasn't looking. "Charlie was fired from her brokerage tonight. She has no legal standing to be on this tract, and her client is trying to force a predatory contract on an elderly woman."

"Fired from Bob's brokerage, yes," Charlie corrected, her dry sarcasm snapping into place. "But as Garrett well knows, the Henderson family signed a binding letter of intent with Vance Energy at the diner hours ago. Under Texas property law, that gives Vance Energy an implied contractual easement and an explicit invitation to enter the premises to finalize the deeds. We aren't trespassing, Danny. We’re invited guests."

"That's a lie—" Garrett started.

"It's the law, Cole," Theo’s deep voice boomed, cutting Garrett off entirely. The sheer weight of his voice made the rival landman step back against the farmhouse wall. Theo stepped forward, his boots crunching loudly on the gravel as he loomed over the porch steps. "And if you or this deputy attempt to unlawfully detain my Head of Land, my legal team will file a federal civil rights lawsuit against this county before the sun hits the horizon. I’ll personally fund the litigation until this department runs out of taxpayers' money."

Deputy Danny swallowed hard, his hand slowly drifting away from his holster. He looked at the ruined, mud-splattered billionaire, then at Garrett, realizing he had been dragged into a corporate war way above his pay grade. "Look, I don't want any trouble—"

The heavy wooden front door of the farmhouse suddenly swung open with a violent thud.

Ms. Mae stepped out onto the porch. She was wearing a quilted floral bathrobe, her silver hair pulled back into a tight braid, and resting securely in the crook of her arm was a gleaming, double-barreled twelve-gauge shotgun.

"What in the holy hell is all this racket on my porch?" Ms. Mae boomed, her sharp eyes scanning the yard before locking directly onto Garrett.

"Ms. Mae," Garrett said, raising his hands defensively. "I was just protecting your interests—"

"You woke me up out of a sound sleep, young man, claimed there were vandals in my driveway, and brought a police cruiser onto my property," Ms. Mae said, her voice dripping with pure South Texas steel as she tapped the stock of the shotgun. "And now I see you’re just trying to bully my landman. I told you at the diner your contract was trash. Now get your boots off my porch before I salt your backside."

Garrett’s face turned an ugly, mottled purple. "Ms. Mae, you're making a mistake—"

"Danny," Ms. Mae barked, ignoring Garrett entirely as she looked at the deputy. "Escort this snake off my land. He’s the only one trespassing out here."

"Yes, ma'am," Deputy Danny said, looking immensely relieved to have a clear order from the matriarch of the county. He turned to Garrett, his hand pointing toward the dually truck. "Let's go, Mr. Cole. You heard the landowner."

Garrett glared at Charlie, then at Theo, his eyes burning with a venomous, unhinged hatred. He stepped off the porch, brushing past Theo’s shoulder. As he did, he paused, dropping his voice to a malicious whisper meant only for them.

"You think you won?" Garrett sneered, a desperate, ugly smile twisting his lips. "Check your phone, Charlie. While you two were driving out here playing small-town heroes, my team tracked down the youngest Henderson brother, Leo, at his home in Victoria. He just signed an exclusive option with Apex twenty minutes ago. Your majority ratification trust is broken. See you at the courthouse, Tycoon."

With that, Garrett stormed to his dually, slammed the door, and tore down the muddy driveway, throwing up a wake of gravel as the patrol car followed him out.

The yard fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Charlie’s stomach did a violent, sickening freefall. Leo. She had forgotten that Leo had moved across the county line last year. If Garrett had his signature on an exclusive option, it meant the family trust was gridlocked.

Before the panic could fully seize her lungs, she felt a large, heavy warmth settle against her lower back. Theo had stepped up right behind her, his chest pressing firmly against her shoulder blades, his hand wrapping around her waist in a fiercely protective embrace that anchored her to the spot.

"He’s lying to rattle you," Theo murmured against her ear, his deep voice a solid, unyielding shield against the dark.

"He's not lying, Theo," Charlie whispered, her voice tight as she looked up at Ms. Mae on the porch. "Leo is the wild card. If Apex has him... we're dead in the water."