Free Masquerade by Cambria Hebert Page B

distance into the trash and turned to run back to Sam.
One of the men grabbed me around the waist and turned me back
saying, “Let’s take a walk, sweet thing.”
    My heart hammered in my chest as the
other one laughed low. I opened my mouth to refuse, but I didn’t
get the chance because Sam ran up behind me and inserted an arm
between me and each guy, shoving them out and away. He had enough
arm strength to do it. Unfortunately, the men were not fazed, and
they came quickly at Sam, pinning him up against the side of a
building.
    “ Go get in the truck,
Heven.”
    “ But…” I couldn’t leave him
there.
    “ Oh, we just want to talk
to her.” One of the creeps laughed.
    Sam looked at me, appearing completely
calm. “Go.”
    I ran, climbing quickly into the truck
and locking the doors. I reached for my cell and keyed in 911
resting my finger on the SEND button, keeping my gaze glued on
Sam.
    Sam straightened, shoving both the men
off of him, and I realized they weren’t much older than us. They
were both tall, dark headed and…grinning? Except their grins
weren’t reassuring, they were frightening. In that moment the few,
fat drops turned into a heavy avalanche of rain, pounding down from
the sky.
    Sam said something, and
one of them laughed. Sam retaliated by shoving him full on, and the
guy stumbled backward. He advanced on Sam, and I tensed, waiting
for the worst, but the other stepped between them and said
something causing the angry one to back down, but not before he
yelled something at him. Sam got up in his face, his lips barely
moving as anger seethed from every pore. The muscles in the
recipient’s back rippled beneath his shirt, and once again I
worried for Sam, but the guy backed down. The other guy said
something and Sam shot a look in my direction, his eyes narrowing
into slits. His jaw was set and hard when he turned back. It scared
me, and I realized I didn’t really know anything about him. But
then he turned back to point a finger in the man’s face and shout.
Suddenly all three of them looked up the street, and I followed
their gaze, but all I saw were shoppers running into stores, most
of them covered with hooded raincoats.
    Sam turned his back on them and
walked, almost prowled, toward me, but it wasn’t over. I beat on
the window in warning, but it was unnecessary because just as one
caught up to him, Sam turned, throwing a fist that connected
solidly with his pursuer’s jaw, and he hit the wet pavement. Sam
challenged the other guy, but he shook his head and helped his
buddy up.
    Then Sam was at the
door . I unlocked
it, and he slid in beside me, starting up the truck.
    He said nothing as he pulled into
traffic and disappeared down the street.
    “ Who were they?” I
gasped.
    His jaw tightened as he pushed the wet
hair off his forehead. “My roommates.”
    “ Your roommates?” Didn’t he
live with his parents?
    He nodded. He was soaked from the
rain. I hurried to turn some of the heating vents toward him and
pulled off the sweatshirt he gave me. “Put that back on. You’re
going to freeze.”
    “ You’re soaking wet!” I
slid over and used the shirt to dry his arms and face, running it
over his head to dry his hair.
    “ Smells like you now,” he
murmured.
    “ Are you hurt? Your hand?”
I worried.
    He flexed his hand and shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
    “ What was that all
about?”
    “ Nothing. They thought they
were being funny.”
    “ They looked
angry.”
    “ They aren’t very
nice.”
    “ Why not?” I
demanded.
    “ They’ve had some rough
times.”
    “ That’s no excuse for bad
behavior!”
    He smiled.
    “ I’m serious!”
    “ I know. Don’t worry about
it okay? They won’t act like that again.” Something in his voice
told me he’d make sure of it.
    “ Are you going to get into
a fight when you get home?”
    “ No.”
    I twisted my hands in my lap. What if
he did? There was two of them and only one of him.
    He reached out and wrapped his