Title: Looming Threat
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Month of November challenge
Prompt: Day 12 - Dare - Put an animal in your story
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***


Ryan laughed as he let the frisbee go sailing from his hand; he was aiming towards Greg, but somehow, the flying object seemed to go wide of the mark. Wolfie chased after it, barking joyously, bounding across the grass as fast as he could go.

It had been a few days since they had brought Wolfie to the park; they'd been so busy with moving things between the two apartments that they had only taken him for quick walks around the block. But today, they had decided to spend the afternoon here.

It was nice to have the weekend off, Ryan thought as he raised a hand to his eyes, squinting against the bright glare of the sunlight. He and Greg were having just as much fun as the puppy was, tossing the frisbee and watching Wolfie run after it.

Wolfie seemed to have settled into the idea of having two homes, even more so than he and Greg had done, Ryan thought with a smile. He had no problem with curling up in his baskets in either apartment; as long as he had food, water, and his toys, he was happy.

He had plenty of love and attention from both of them, Ryan thought as he watched Greg go down on his knees in front of the puppy, gently taking the frisbee from Wolfie's mouth and patting the puppy's head. It had been a great day when he'd brought Wolfie home.

Somehow, the puppy seemed to solidify their little family. He hadn't had a pet since he'd moved out of his parents' house, at least not any kind of pet that had to be taken care of in the way that their puppy did. Wolfie seemed to bring the two of them closer together.

Greg stood up, Wolfie leaping for the frisbee that he still held in one hand. He waved at Ryan, and Ryan waved back, raising his hands to let Greg know that he was ready to catch the frisbee if the puppy didn't get to it first.

Greg drew his arm back, letting the frisbee fly through the air. With a leap, Wolfie was after it, barking as he bounced along the grass towards Ryan, jumping into the air with every few steps he took. He was certainly getting his exercise, Ryan thought with a grin.

He caught the frisbee easily, Wolfie jumping up with a growl to try and snatch it out of his hand. Ryan drew back his arm to throw the disc back to Greg, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, the frisbee falling from his hand as his limbs seemed to freeze.

The man from the Cuban mob had stepped out from behind a tree, only a couple of feet away from Greg. As Ryan watched helplessly, the man's arm shot out to encircle Greg's throat, pulling the other man against him, his other hand wielding a knife that flashed silver in the sun.

He just stood there for what felt like an eternity, frozen in place. He was terrified of moving, knowing that one wrong move could send that knife plunging into Greg's body, or that it could be drawn across his neck within seconds, as he stood and watched.

But Wolfie had no such reservations. It was as though the puppy could tell that something threatened one of the humans that he considered his; with a growl, he took off across the expanse of emerald grass, heading for Greg and the man who held him captive.

All he could see was the startled, horrified look on Greg's face as Wolfie leaped towards him; he was sure that his boyfriend was thinking the same thing that he was, that the man's knife would be buried in the puppy at any second.

But even though he loved Wolfie, better to lose their puppy than to lose Greg, Ryan thought. He was rooted to the spot; he was afraid to move for fear that anything he did would be seen as a threat, and that the man might kill Greg if he so much as took a step.

Wolfie had no such reservations. The man backed away as the puppy approached, pulling Greg along with him; Wolfie leaped at him, barking, fastening his sharp teeth unceremoniously into the man's leg and not letting go, even when Greg's captor yelled at him.

Ryan didn't know what to do; he didn't have his gun, and he didn't want to tackle the man, not when he still had that knife in his hand. But before he could take more than a few steps towards them, the man had let Greg go and taken off, with Wolfie in hot pursuit.

Greg had fallen to the ground, his hand going to his throat, Ryan ran towards him, skidding to a stop when he reached his boyfriend and going down on his knees next to the other man. He was terrified of what he would see; he didn't know if that knife had touched Greg's flesh.

He couldn't see any blood; he gathered Greg into his arms, relieved beyond words to realize that Greg hadn't been knifed, that he wasn't bleeding, and apparently hadn't been harmed in any way other than the terror that both of them had obviously experienced.

"Are you okay?" he managed to whisper, hoping that Greg would answer in the affirmative. He could feel his boyfriend trembling in his embrace; he tightened his arms around Greg, looking around them, asking himself how the other people here hadn't noticed what had happened.

Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to what had taken place in a corner of the park, near the protection of the trees near the parking lot. Ryan could hear Wolfie's frenzied barking coming from that direction; he knew that they had to find out where the puppy was.

They both got to their feet, heading in the direction of the parking lot and dreading what they would see. At least they could still hear Wolfie's barking; the puppy was obviously still chasing their quarry, and he hadn't been shot or knifed.

But when they reached the parking lot, the man was nowhere in sight; Wolfie was standing by Greg's car, barking furiously. He hadn't been tied there; he was simply standing there as though he was protecting what he knew was his territory.

Greg knelt down to quiet the puppy; Wolfie's barking changed to soft whining as he pushed his cold, wet nose into Greg's hands, as though to convince himself that his people were all right, and that he'd done a good job of protecting them to the best of his ability.

Ryan sighed as he looked down at Greg, then bent down to pet Wolfie. The looming threat was moving closer; this was all the proof they needed for them both to realize that neither of them was safe, no matter where they were. They would have to watch their backs more than ever.

***

Next story in series - Precious To Me.