Free Return to Me by Christy Reece Page B

guy, and probably not John, since he sounds either too young or maybe not so bright.”
    “Yeah, my thoughts, too. I did some research on Brian Sanders. He is who he says he is. Popular kid, plays football. Definitely a high school jock. Only question is, is this really Brian? I’ve sent some of my people to check him out. In the meantime, we’ll play along.” He clicked back onto Brian’s message and slid the laptop toward her. “Want to answer him back?”
    Samara nodded. Chewing her lip in concentration, she replied,
Hi Brian. I’m a sophomore at Pelham. I love football. Maybe I’ll come and watch you sometime
. Before she could press send, Noah’s hand stopped her.
    “Wait—don’t you think that’s coming on a little strong?”
    “Excuse me? When’s the last time you were a sixteen-year-old girl or even around a sixteen-year-old girl?”
    “I’ll admit it’s been a while. I just don’t want him to think you’re pushing a meeting. The last thing we want to do is scare him off.”
    Though she still didn’t think it was too forward, Noah was right. They did need to play it safe until they had him hooked. “Okay, how about this?” She deleted what she’d typed, typed a few new sentences, and slid the screen toward him.
    I like football … really all sports. It’s just my mom and me here at home, and she’s not into sports. Do you play anything else besides football?
    “Better. Send it and see what happens.”
    Samara hit send and stared at the screen. Nothing happened. Of course, he was probably doing other things. If he was the real Brian, he might be mowing the grass or doing whatever teen boys do on a Saturday morning. If he wasn’t the real Brian, she hoped he took the bait so no other young girl got caught up in his wicked net.
    “While we’re waiting, do you want to learn a few self-defense moves?”
    Samara blinked at him. He was offering to teach her? “Why?”
    “Because you need to know how to protect yourself. There’s nothing dangerous about this project, but you never know when something might happen. Like the other night. You should have been able to do some damage to me.”
    “I fooled you into thinking I was unconscious.”
    That beautiful smile lifted his perfect lips and Samara had to literally catch her breath before she expelled it on a sigh of sheer awe. Why did this man have to be so incredibly delectable and so frustratingly irritating?
    “Yeah, you fooled me. But I was doing my damnedest not to hurt you. If someone hadn’t cared about that, they could have taken you with no problem.”
    Samara stood. Pride told her to say no, she didn’t need his help. Her brothers had taught her all she needed to know. Curiosity, along with an anticipation of being close to him, forced pride away and made her say, “Okay. Show me what I should have done the other night.”
    As he rose to stand beside her, a voice inside Noah’s head cursed him for his stupidity. He’d done his dead level best to keep away from her and now he was about to get even closer? Just how masochistic could one man be?
    “Okay, first of all. Always park as close as you can to your apartment.”
    “I would have except there weren’t any spaces available.” She shot him a narrowed-eye glare. “You probably got my spot.”
    “Second, always make sure you look around when you get out of the car. If you feel even the slightest apprehension, something seems off, whatever, get back in the car.”
    “That’s kind of what Eden told me.”
    “You talked to Eden? When?”
    “Yesterday.”
    “She gave you advice on keeping safe?”
    “Just a little.”
    “Are you worried that something’s going to happen to you? Because we can change—”
    “No, I’m not worried and neither is Eden. She just wanted me to take responsibility for staying aware of my surroundings.”
    “Good advice. Now, I came at you from behind. Turn around.”
    Samara turned and Noah immediately grabbed her. Samara swung around and