Read Out of Time (Out of Line #2) (Volume 2) for Free Online Page A

more secrets.”
    She nibbled on her lower lip as she did up her bikini top, tying it in front of her breasts before sliding it up over her neck. “I know that. But you had a pretty big secret before that.”
    “You mean the fact that I was your father’s secret bodyguard sent to watch over you?” I snorted. “That’s nothing. What you really should know about me is this: I snore when I’m drunk.”
    She smacked me playfully. “Don’t make me hurt you…and in that case? Maybe I’ll need to leave some earplugs here.”
    “You can leave them right next to the bed.” I hauled her into my arms, liking the idea of her leaving her shit here more and more. “You can leave some shirts and stuff, too, if you want. In case you ever need a quick change. Maybe a few of those books with abs on it that you like to read when you’re not busy reading for school.”
    She blinked up at me. “Okay.”
    “Why are you looking at me like that again ?” I flexed my fingers on her hips, not sure what the confused stare she wore meant. Did she not like the idea of leaving stuff here? Maybe I was moving too fast for her. Shit if I knew. “It’s just clothes, Ginger. It’s not a big deal. You have tons of them—just leave a few here instead of leaving them in a box that says ‘free: take one’ on the front.”
    She laughed and pushed out of my arms. “I know . Now shut up.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” I tied my swim trunks and headed back toward the bathroom to brush my teeth. “Let me text your dad real quick. I’ve probably got like twenty texts from him already.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Remind me to tell you about Italy.”
    “Oh, that sounds…” I picked up my phone and swiped my finger across it. There wasn’t a single message from him. Not a single one. That never happened. “What the fuck?”
    She came up behind me and rested her hands on my shoulders, peeking around me to check my phone. “What? What’s wrong?”
    “He didn’t text me.” I opened his messages, scanning the time of the last text I’d gotten. “Shit. He hasn’t texted me since yesterday.”
    “Is that different than usual?”
    “Fuck yeah, it is.” I swiped my finger up, showing her how many times he usually texted me. “He texts me like ten times a day, Ginger. But I’ve got nothing. Nothing .”
    She kissed my shoulder. “It’s probably nothing to worry about. He’s just busy, I bet. He called me yesterday at lunch and sounded fine. He wanted to let me know he might be a little bit quiet because of his schedule.”
    I relaxed a little bit, but it didn’t feel right. Something was off, and I’d learned long ago to listen to my gut. If it said something was wrong, something was fucking wrong. “Yeah. Sure.”
    She let go of me. “Now go get ready. I want to get out in the ocean.”
    I headed for the bathroom, my phone still in my hand. As I brushed my teeth, I jotted off a quick text to Senator Wallington. Carrie’s okay. All is well.
    Within a minute I had a reply. Thank you .
    That was it. A thank you. There was nothing wrong with the text, per se. But it wasn’t right, damn it. I shook off the feeling that was bugging the fuck out of me, and focused on the date I’d promised Carrie. She had enough to stress about, what with that weird phone call I’d gotten that neither of us could make any sense out of, so I didn’t need to go obsessing about the tone of a text message like some pansy-assed little girl.
    I leaned against the door, my eyes on my reflection. The nagging sensation that something was wrong wouldn’t let go. On top of that, I figured out what was bugging me from when we’d talked about our date.
    I stared at myself, all tattoos, dog tags, muscles, swim trunks and five-o-clock shadow—it hit me. The problem with her wanting a fancy date with flowers and dresses and jewelry and valet parking was I wasn’t fancy.
    I could put on an expensive suit and pretend.
    I could afford to be that guy, money-wise.
    But