Obsession - Part Eight

[rycolfan.livejournal.com]

Title - Obsession
Rating - PG
Pairing - I think you should know by now!
Summary - Ryan discovers the sinister side of fame...
Disclaimer - I only own the story...
Feedback - makes me happy!

Well, I've been working hard to bring you the next part of this story and here it is! *phew*

Hope you approve.....love you all!  :o)

Part Eight

Colin sat quietly as an officer fitted Ryan with a concealed microphone under his shirt, unsure if it was such a good idea anymore.

"All done," the officer said with a reassuring smile. "I'll turn it on before we go. See you in a minute."

Ryan nodded, beginning to feel nervous. When they were alone again he turned to pull Colin up and into a tight hug, feeling him shaking in his arms as they held on to each other. "I'm scared Ry," Colin whispered. "If anything happened to you...."

Ryan lifted Colin's head and looked into his soft brown eyes which were brimming with unshed tears. "It's gonna be alright Col, I promise," he said, stroking Colin's cheek gently. "I'm gonna make sure she never hurts you or anyone else again, ok?"

Colin looked at Ryan's determined expression and knew he meant every word. He lifted Ryan's hand from his cheek and kissed his palm tenderly before gazing back into the green eyes he adored. "I love you," he said tearfully.

"I know," Ryan smiled, echoing Colin's earlier response, before turning serious, "I love you too."

Leaning forward simultaneously, their lips collided and they both melted into the kiss. It was intense with a hint of desperation, neither wanting it to end as tears spilled down their cheeks.

Eventually they had to break apart for air, resting their foreheads together as they took deep breaths. Ryan gently brushed away the tears on Colin's cheeks with his thumb and Colin reached up to do the same to Ryan with a soft smile. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Ryan stood back and held out his hand which Colin grasped firmly.

When they reached the exit to the parking lot with Charlie, Ryan saw Paul waiting for him patiently. The rest of the guys were there too, all looking anxious. Colin moved to wait by the door as Ryan gave each of them a quick hug while they whispered words of reassurance and wished him luck.

"Keep yourself safe man," Greg said as Ryan reached him last and pulled him into a hug, "she's one crazy bitch."

Ryan chuckled as he released him. "I will. Thanks Greg."

He turned back to Colin who was struggling to retain his composure. Ryan hated to leave him like this, part of his brain screaming at him to stay by Colin's side, but he had to go. He walked over to him and grabbed him in a fierce hug, Colin clinging on to him and fighting tears.

"I'll see you soon, ok?" Ryan said, trying to convince himself as much as Colin who nodded into his neck. With a final kiss Ryan released him and forced his legs to move away, walking out into the sunlight with Paul.

Colin stood and watched Ryan walk away, feeling an overwhelming urge to call him back and beg him not to go. Greg moved to put an arm around his shoulders comfortingly and the others gathered around in silent support.

"He'll be fine Colin," Drew said reassuringly.

"I really hope you're right Drew," Colin whispered.

xxxxx 

Ryan's stomach was fluttering with nerves as he drove through the streets of downtown LA. He was already doubting his decision to do this. Maybe he should have done as Drew suggested and left it to the police, but then if they didn't catch her she would be free to go after Colin again and he couldn't let that happen.

The memory of Colin's tearful expression as he'd left flashed into his mind. Walking away from him had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do and it had taken every bit of his willpower to keep going. He was doing this for him, to keep him safe. Colin was the love of his life and he didn't want to live in a world without him. He was filled with a steely determination as he neared his destination.

When he arrived, he put on a baseball cap and sunglasses; the fewer people that recognized him the better. He got out of the car and walked to the library, wondering how many pairs of eyes were watching his progress. He scrutinzed every woman he passed, suspicious of every look sent his way, as he made his way to a bench just outside the library's entrance and glanced at his watch. 11.48....

xxxxx

Colin walked to the green room and sat down with the rest of the guys who were trying their hardest to distract him from worrying. It wasn't working though. He had a really bad feeling in his gut that he just couldn't shift and it scared the hell out of him. Ryan had no idea what he was walking into and, despite his assurances, Colin knew that he was just as scared.

"Col? You with us?" Brad asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Colin blinked, realizing he'd not heard a word of the conversation. "Sorry Brad," he said, looking up at him. "I guess I'm not very good company at the moment."

"No need to apologize," Brad said gently. "It's completely understandable under the circumstances."

Colin smiled gratefully, deciding to try not to think about it for a while. He glanced at Charlie who was standing rigidly by the door, waiting for someone to organize an unmarked car to take him home.

"Hey Charlie," Colin called, "pull up a pew. There's no need to stand on ceremony here."

Charlie looked at him uncertainly. "Detective Roberts told me to stay alert at all times."

"No-one in this room is gonna hurt me," Colin reassured him, " so come and sit down." He patted the seat next to him and Charlie relented with a smile.

"So Charlie," Greg began as he sat down, "tell us about yourself."

Charlie shrugged. "Not much to tell."

"Aw come on, there must be something," Greg said encouragingly. "Are you married? Kids?"

All eyes were on Charlie as he answered. "Um...yes, I'm married. No kids yet but we want some..." he trailed off looking uncomfortable under the scrutiny of so many.

Greg looked undeterred as he continued. "Where did you grow up?"

"Santa Monica," Charlie replied.

"Uh huh," Greg nodded, getting into his stride. "Did you always want to be a cop?"

Sensing Charlie's discomfort, Colin raised his hand, "Okay Greg, enough with the interrogation. Let's not scare the poor man away," he said firmly, earning a grateful smile from Charlie and a disappointed pout from Greg. The others looked on in amusement.

"Don't mind Greg, you get used to him after a while," Colin muttered to Charlie who grinned.

"Hey, I heard that," Greg protested and there were several snorts of laughter.

Drew suddenly spotted Brad's shirt. "Er Brad? Why's your shirt ripped man?"

Wayne, Jeff and Chip burst into laughter as Brad looked down at his shirt and Drew looked confused.

"It's the new fashion trend Drew," Brad said seriously.

Drew knew he wasn't going to get a sensible answer out of him so he turned to Colin who was shaking his head with a smile.

"Let's just say that he and Greg had a little disagreement earlier," Colin replied, eyes twinkling.

"And I missed it? Damn," Drew said, glancing back at Brad then at Greg who was looking awkward.

"You didn't miss much Drew," Chip said with a smirk. "Ryan put a stop to it before it got interesting."

The mention of Ryan's name instantly wiped the smile from Colin's face and he looked down at the floor. Greg glared daggers at Chip. They had just managed to take Colin's mind off things and now they were back to square one.

"Nice going man," Wayne muttered.

"Shit.....I'm sorry Colin," Chip said, looking mortified by his slip-up.

Colin looked up at him. "It's ok Chip," he replied with a small smile. "I have to face the situation at some point." He sighed and looked at his watch. 11.48....

xxxxx

Ryan sat on the bench and jiggled his leg as he always did when he was nervous. He was shaded from the sun by a large tree but was still sweating profusely. He felt his stomach twist uncomfortably everytime a woman approached him, breathing a sigh of relief when they walked past without stopping.

He knew he wasn't alone, that there were guns trained on his position, but that didn't make him feel much better. He had no idea what he was going to say to this woman or what she expected of him. He took a deep breath and thought of Colin which gave him renewed strength to face whatever came his way. He looked down at his watch again. 11.59...

xxxxx

"Your car's here Charlie."

Everyone looked at the officer who'd popped his head in as Charlie thanked him and got up, Colin following suit. Everyone else got to their feet too and looked at Colin anxiously.

"I guess this is it," Colin said, trying not to sound nervous.

Greg moved forwards and pulled him into a hug, careful to avoid his injured arm. "We'll see you soon," he said firmly, patting Colin's back and offering up a silent prayer. "Give us a call when you get to your new place ok?"

Colin nodded and released him as Brad came forward. They all took turns to hug him and tell him it would be fine, although their eyes betrayed them. They watched in silence as Colin walked away down the corridor with Charlie, all wondering what lay ahead and fearing the worst.

Charlie tried to keep Colin talking on the way home so he wouldn't dwell on things but without much success. Colin couldn't help but wonder what was happening with Ryan at that moment as he stared out of the window at the familiar streets. When they arrived at the house, Charlie got out first and looked around before opening Colin's car door for him.

"Just take what you need," Charlie said as they walked to the house, "you've got ten minutes ok?"

Colin nodded and pulled out his keys before stopping abruptly.

"What is it?" Charlie said urgently as Colin stared ahead.

"The door's open," Colin whispered fearfully, turning to look at Charlie, "and I know for a fact that we locked it this morning."

Charlie pulled his gun out of its holster and said, "Wait here," before slowly edging forward. He pushed the door open a little wider and slipped inside, gun at the ready.

Colin stood outside and listened, heart thumping, as he waited for Charlie to return. After several minutes, he thought he heard a muffled thud and tentatively called out to him. When he didn't receive an answer, he moved forward cautiously and peered through the slightly open door. From what he could see, the house looked exactly as they'd left it earlier.

"Charlie?" he called softly again but everything was quiet. He quickly pulled out his cellphone and cursed under his breath when he was unable to get a signal. He could see their home telephone in the hallway only a few meters away. Taking a deep breath, he quietly slipped through the open door and crept towards the phone. He felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest as his hand closed around the receiver and he lifted it carefully.

He brought it up to his ear and froze as he looked into the front room and caught sight of a body lying on the floor. His mind barely had time to register what his eyes were seeing before he felt a blinding pain on the back of his head and fell to the floor. The last thing he saw was his watch flashing 12.00 before everything went black.


To be continued....