Crude Intentions

Chapter 17: The Pasture Run

The dust from the sleek black sedan hadn’t even settled before Theo was moving. His entire posture shifted from intensely focused tycoon to cold, calculating protector in a fraction of a second. He gripped Charlie by the upper arm, pulling her away from the window and back into the shadows of the workspace.

"They tracked the Escalade's GPS," Theo muttered, his jaw set in a hard, tight line. "Richard must have overridden the privacy protocols through corporate security. They’re here to serve an administrative freeze or lock down my personal access before the federal clearinghouse processes that wire."

Charlie looked at the security monitor. Two men in identical corporate black suits stepped out of the sedan, adjusting their ties in the humid morning air. One of them held a thick manila folder—legal papers meant to tie Theo’s hands and drag Charlie into a nightmare of corporate injunctions.

"They're blocking the main driveway," Charlie said, her mind clicking through the layout of her property. Her signature unbothered landman calm was working overtime, cooling the frantic rush of adrenaline in her veins. "If we try to back the Escalade out, they’ll block us in, and we’ll spend the next three hours arguing over a civil injunction while the clock runs down on the Henderson lease."

"We aren't arguing with anyone," Theo said, his deep voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal register. He reached down, grabbed her laptop, slammed it shut, and shoved it into her leather work bag along with her notary seal. He zipped it up and threw the strap over his broad shoulder. "Where is the back exit, Charlie?"

"There isn't a paved one," she said, a wicked, defiant smirk spreading across her lips as she grabbed her keys off the hook. "But this is South Texas, Tycoon. We don't always need pavement. Follow me."

She threw open a heavy side door that led straight out into a dense canopy of mesquite trees and thick brush. The sticky morning heat slapped them in the face, but they didn't break stride. They sprinted around the back of the workspace, using the building as a shield, and slipped into the driver and passenger sides of the massive Escalade just as the corporate goons reached the front porch.

Theo slammed his door shut, jammed the keyless start button, and the high-powered engine roared to life with a deep, menacing rumble.

On the porch, the two corporate suits snapped their heads around, their eyes widening in shock as they realized their target was already moving. The man holding the manila folder sprinted down the steps, waving his arms, while the other ran back to the sedan to block the driveway.

"Theo, don't put it in reverse!" Charlie shouted over the engine, her hand clamping over his forearm on the gear shift. The muscle beneath her palm was rigid as iron. "They’ll pin us against the oak trees. Throw it in drive."

Theo flicked his dark, burning eyes toward her, a sudden, thrilling spark of understanding igniting in their depths. "Drive? We’re facing a five-foot barbed-wire fence and three acres of raw pasture, Landman."

"The Escalade has four-wheel drive and a brush guard, right?" Charlie fired back, her dry sarcasm flashing like a weapon. "Put it in low gear, hit the gas, and don't tap the brakes. I'll tell you where the old cattle gate is."

A slow, dangerously wild smirk spread across Theo’s sharp features. The untouchable boardroom billionaire was completely gone, replaced by a man who looked like he thoroughly enjoyed tearing up the rulebook.

"Hold on," Theo murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that sent a liquid jolt of electricity straight to her stomach.

He slammed the shifter into drive, spun the steering wheel hard to the right, and floored the accelerator.

The hundred-thousand-dollar luxury SUV launched forward with a violent, throat-clearing roar. The corporate investigator running toward them had to dive headfirst into the gravel driveway to avoid being clipped by the massive side mirror.

The Escalade tore off the gravel, its high-performance tires ripping deep, muddy ruts into Charlie's pristine green pasture. Bouncing violently over the uneven terrain, the heavy vehicle smashed straight through a thicket of low-hanging mesquite branches, the leaves scraping loudly against the expensive black paint.

Charlie clutched the dashboard with one hand and her work bag with the other, her heart hammering a frantic, wild rhythm against her ribs. She looked over at Theo. He was driving with a brutal, flawless efficiency, his large hands gripping the leather wheel, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. He looked entirely in his element—rugged, dangerous, and completely untamed.

"Left!" Charlie shouted as they barrelled toward a dense line of cedar trees. "Aim for the gap between those two old oaks! There’s a rusted iron gate hidden in the brush!"

Theo didn't hesitate. He locked his gaze on the gap, his jaw clenched so tightly a muscle leaped in his cheek. The Escalade slammed through the thick brush, the heavy steel bumper violently tearing down a section of rusted, overgrown wire gate with a loud, metallic CRUNCH.

They burst through the perimeter fence, the tires spinning on the slick grass before catching traction on an old, unpaved county oil-field road that ran parallel to her property.

Theo spun the wheel, correcting the slide with a practiced ease, and slammed the SUV into high gear. They tore down the dirt road, leaving a massive, blinding wall of dust and flying gravel behind them.

Through the rearview mirror, Charlie watched the sleek corporate sedan attempt to pull into the pasture after them, only to instantly sink axle-deep into the thick, waterlogged Goliad mud they had just churned up. The city tires spun uselessly, throwing up a pathetic spray of black dirt as the investigators became hopelessly stranded.

Charlie let out a loud, genuine laugh, a massive wave of pure, unadulterated triumph washing over her. She leaned her head back against the headrest, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling as she looked over at the billionaire beside her.

"Well, Tycoon," she breathed, her voice uneven from the adrenaline. "You just turned a hundred-thousand-dollar corporate asset into a mud-bogger. Your uncle is going to have a stroke when he sees the insurance claim."

Theo slowed the SUV down as they hit the paved highway, turning west toward the town center. He shifted his weight on the leather seat, turning his dark, hooded gaze toward her. The raw, possessive intensity burning in his eyes made the breath catch completely in her throat.

He reached across the console, his large, warm hand wrapping firmly around the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in the loose strands of her hair as he pulled her an inch closer.

"I don't give a damn about the car, Charlie," Theo whispered, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that sent a wave of liquid heat straight to her core. His thumb stroked the sensitive skin of her jawline with a fierce, intoxicating warmth. "You are spectacular under pressure. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Charlie swallowed hard, her dry sarcasm melting into a sudden, breathless vulnerability as she looked into his eyes. "It's just standard landman training, Vance. We handle the elements."

"No," Theo murmured, his gaze dropping significantly to her lips before locking back onto her eyes, his grip tightening just enough to make her pulse rattle. "You don't just handle them, Landman. You rule them. And right now... we have a bank to catch."

He let go of her neck, leaving her skin tingling with a dangerous warmth, and pressed the accelerator down as the dashboard clock flipped to 8:52 AM.

The wire transfer was officially in the federal queue, the corporate wolves were stuck in the mud behind them, but the absolute hardest part of the morning was just ahead: convincing the conservative, small-town president of the Goliad Community Bank to draw a million-dollar cashier's check before the corporate freeze order caught up to them.