<span style="font-size: 18px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">As broken as Jaxon Pierce may have become from his wartime experience, Gabriel saw them both as kindred spirits affected by different traumas. Death and the destruction of war were Jaxon's kryptonite, and being a battered lover was Gabriel's. As Gabriel sat on the bench, the feeling of guilt was so overwhelming. It had to be his fault that all this was happening,  he always brought all of this crap upon himself. It happened every time he and Slater had a fight.<br/>
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<i>Maybe if I wasn't so independent, so stubborn.<br/>
Maybe if I had given more of my time to Slater, this wouldn't have happened.<br/>
If I had of been better, more perfect for him....maybe I wouldn't be in this position right now.<br/>
Maybe if I call him, and say I'm sorry this will all stop. <br/>
</i><br/>
Jaxon was the only friend he had that was a neutral party, really. All of Gabriel's other friends had bailed once Slater Conway began dictating who his friends could and could not be. He had no one else to call at this hour, no one wanted to deal with the emotional upheaval and constant fear that Gabriel had to endure, so most of the time he endured it alone. Even his family didn't seem to understand the strange attraction that brought Gabriel back again and again to Slater.<br/>
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He had stopped himself from calling Slater's number, and called Jaxon Pierce instead. Gabriel couldn't forget his gleaming blue eyes, or the sheen of sweat that dripped from his brow as he gave Slater an epic beat down after clocking Gabriel in the face and sending him to the hospital with a concussion. Or the elated feeling he felt from hearing Jaxon's authoritative voice as he ordered his dog, Kiv, to attack Slater. Such power, strength and fearlessness. Qualities Gabriel only wished he possessed himself.<br/>
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Twenty minutes later, the beam of headlights shone brightly into his Uncle Armando's carport and a sense of indomitable fear shook Gabriel Alcantara to his core. Had Slater and his friends returned for a second visit? Gabriel's heart practically leapt from his chest, as he panicked and almost made a run for it to the bushes. It wasn't until he heard the patter of four padded canine feet and the warm depth of Jaxon's baritone voice that the fear was overcome by relief.<br/>
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"Jaxon. I'm so glad you came. The window-" Gabriel began to explain the tarp that securely covered the casita behind him. It was then that his voice began to sound shaky.<br/>
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"The police came and told me Slater bailed out of jail, someone came here while I was with friends and threw a paver through my front window. I think...maybe it was him." Gabriel explained, as he stood up.<br/>
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Gabriel hadn't yet answered the second part of Jaxon's question. Mainly because of Jaxon and Kiv's alertness and hypervigilance. If that was how Jaxon was in the military, Gabriel had little doubt that any enemy would have been eradicated by Jaxon or Kiv. Just like the friends that tried to warn him away from his fatal attraction with Slater, Gabriel had a hard time staring Jaxon in the eye. He answered him, nervously eyeballing the Converse on his feet.<br/>
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"I'm scared. I'm really scared Jaxon. I just wanted some company. I wanted you." Gabriel's voice cracked, as he began to cry.</span></span>