Caught in the Undertow (Hawaiian Crush #6) by E. L. Todd Page A

bat away, and punched him ten times in a row. The blood poured out of his nose and face. Coen was so angry he could barely control himself. It was his sister all over again. When he finally stepped back, blood was dripping from his knuckles.
    The guy slowly got to his feet, breathing heavily. “Why the fuck are you here?”
    “He’s my boyf riend!” Casey shouted.
    “Whoa…wait,” Coen said.
    “It’s you?” the man said.
    “She’s moved on,” Coen said. “Leave her alone or I’ll kill you. I swear.” He picked up the bat and spun it in his wrist.
    The man eyed it warily.
    “I suggest you leave and don’t come back,” Coen threatened.
    He moved around Coen then bolted out of the front door.
    When Coen looked at the bedroom door, it was caved in from the bat. “Are you okay?”
    She unlocked it and opened it. “Thank you so much.” She jumped into his arms.
    Coen felt awkward again. He stepped back. “Please don’t hug me.”
    She looked like she had been slapped. “I’m sorry…”
    “I’m married.”
    “Oh.”
    “I’m happily married,” he added.
    She said nothing.
    “If that didn’t scare him off for good, I don’t know what will.”
    She fidgeted in place. “Why are you helping me?”
    Coen stared at her. “Because I want to.”
    “Jeremy isn’t someone you want to mess with him.”
    “He is if he keeps bothering you,” Coen said. “Let me know if he comes back.”
    “I hope he doesn’t,” Casey said. “I’m so sick of this. I need to get out.”
    Coen stared at her dark brown hair and blue eyes. In the darkness, she looked like Theresa. Maybe it was just his imagination, but that’s what he saw. It made his heart hurt. “I’ll keep you safe,” he blurted.
    She stared at him.
    “Do you have somewhere else to say?”
    “No,” she said quietly.
    Coen crossed his arms over his chest. “You have my number if you need me. But if this doesn’t stop, you should call the police.”
    “Please don’t tell anyone,” she blurted.
    “I won’t call the cops.”
    “I mean anyone,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to know. Promise me.”
    “Why are you trying to hide it?”
    “Because it’s embarrassing,” she said. “I have an abusive boyfriend. I don’t want anyone to know that. That’s why I came to you, hoping I could take care of it myself.”
    “I won’t tell anyone,” he said.
    “Promise me.”
    “I promise not to tell anyone but my wife.”
    Her eyes widened. “I said anyone.”
    “I tell her everything.”
    “No,” she snapped.
    “She’s been through something very similar,” Coen said. “She would never judge you.”
    “Coen, I mean it. Can I trust you or not?”
    He sighed.
    “According to that paperwork at the gym, everything has to be confidential. I wouldn’t have trusted you without that reassurance.”
    “Okay, okay.”
    She seemed relieved. “And I didn’t know you were married. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
    “I just didn’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
    “She’s a very lucky lady.”
    “I’m the lucky one,” he said automatically.
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “Now what do I do?”
    “Move on,” he said. “If Jeremy comes back, let me know.”
    “Now that he thinks you’re my boyfriend, he probably won’t show up again.”
    “I hope so,” Coen said.
    “Do you do this a lot?” she asked.
    “What?”
    “Help strangers.”
    He shrugged. “I guess. It’s how I met my wife.”
    “Why are you doing this?”
    He was quiet for a moment. “I lost someone very close to me. I vowed not to let it happen to anyone else.” He stared at her. “And you remind me of her. I feel like I have to protect you.”
    “Who was it?” she asked quietly.
    “My—my sister.”
    “I’m so sorry.”
    He nodded.
    They stood there in silence for a long time.
    “I should go,” Coen said. “Before my wife notices I’m gone.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Will you be okay?”
    She looked around the