An hour before Clementine's arrival, Sam and John walked the streets because they had the means to protect themselves from external threats.
Sam knew that John had seen him fight so if he was going to do something sneaky, it would be when his guard was done.
This was why Sam seemingly left himself open throughout this journey in hopes that it would force John to take this opening but there was nothing.
John didn't take the bait but this didn't mean that Sam trusted him, Sam knew that he took a gamble by disclosing their location to John.
Because nothing was stopping John from pulling the trigger and ending his life seeing as he knew their base.
He knew the kind of people they were, this was what they did as he had heard the gist of how Bella came to join Jason's crew.
Sam was surprised that they took her under their wings after she was the reason they almost lost their possessions which could drastically reduce their chances of survival.
