Charlie stood, too, brushing pointlessly at the mud on her shorts. Her sharp eyes flicked from me to Doug. "That's right. What do you say about that, Doug? You told me we had a permit."
"We do," he snapped, too quickly. His voice cracked on the last word.
Charlie crossed her arms. "Do we?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it was dangerous.
Doug's mouth opened, then shut. His nostrils flared. "You don't know anything," he spat. "You never have. You just use everyone like you always do."
"What are you talking about?" Charlie's eyes widened.
"I'm the one who made this project happen." Doug glared at her as if she were roadkill.
"Then give me the truth," she demanded, stepping forward a pace. "Did we have permission or not?"
Doug's expression twisted. "Shut up, Charlie. I'm so sick of your bullshit."
She gasped, recoiling as though he’d struck her.
I straightened, hands curling into fists. "Hey, I said, watch your goddamn mouth."
Silence thickened between us. Outside, the storm gave a low, menacing growl.
Charlie exhaled, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're an asshole. I used to look up to you."
Doug turned to me with a sneer. "You don't know her. She doesn't listen, and she'll do whatever it takes to get what she wants."
Charlie pressed her fingers against her temples, pain etched across her face. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Doug flashed me a wink as if we were in some secret club together. We fucking weren't. The men I called friends didn't try to drown women to save themselves, and they sure as hell weren’t cowards.
"All those late nights …" he said, letting the words dangle like bait.
Charlie sucked in a sharp breath. "Late nights planning this excavation? What about them?"
Doug gave a theatrical eye roll, then looked pointedly at me. "She's always flirting with me. Leading me on."
Bullshit. I'd seen the way she looked at him, and it sure as hell wasn't flirting.
Charlie recoiled. "What the hell? You're delusional. I never?—"
I stepped between them, filling the space, but my message was clear.
Doug backed off half a step, chest heaving. His hand shifted to the rifle strap slung over his shoulder as if reminding me he was armed.
Stupid move.
He had no idea who he was dealing with. If he so much as twitched for that weapon, I'd have him in a chokehold so fast he wouldn't remember his own damn name.
Charlie's gaze flicked to mine. Wide. Wounded. Furious. "He's lying," she said, voice raw. "He's just trying to deflect from the truth." Then she turned back to Doug, her fury hardening into resolve. "You never got a permit to excavate this land, did you?"
Doug snorted. "Now who's deflecting from the truth?"
"Answer her," I growled. "Admit you didn’t get a permit."
Doug's jaw worked. His gaze darted. That was answer enough, but I wanted to see if the coward had the balls to admit it.
Doug’s scowl deepened. "You son of a?—"
"I'd watch what you say next," I cut in, my tone low and sharp. "Because you're still on my land, and I haven't even started being pissed off yet."