Toronto, Canada, 2006. A few months after the worst year of the Iraq war. Gabriel Navarro splits his time between his job slinging ink at the Atlantis Ink tattoo parlor, and working on his master’s degree in fine art. Gabe is twenty-two, sure of his beliefs and his artistic integrity, and na?ve enough to think he’ll never have to compromise. And then one night Jake MacLean walks into the shop and changes everything. Jake Maclean is twenty-eight and a veteran American Army pilot. He's been staying with his ex-pat sister in Toronto while he tries to get his life in order. The problem is, he can't. After his disastrous final mission in Iraq, he's overcome with anger and survivor’s guilt, trapped in a losing battle to atone for a failure he’s sure can never be forgiven. Left without hope, he decides to have his memory of the mission tattooed on his back, with the condemning words: God Will Judge Me. He doesn't expect to fall for the tattoo artist. Gabe falls just as quickly and deeply for Jake, though Jake's reluctance to talk about what happened frustrates and worries him. Gabe knows Jake isn't doing well, but accepting Jake’s claims that he's "fine" is far easier than dealing with the frightening truth. But soon it’s horribly clear Jake can’t control his panic attacks or flashes of violence, and he's getting worse. If Gabe can’t help him face his demons, Jake is headed for a crash -- and there’s every chance he’ll take Gabriel down with him.

Black Hawk Tattoo

“It’s kind of hot,” Jake said. He picked up his picture of the helicopter and carefully refolded it. “Do you need this?”


“Um, yeah, if that’s okay,” Gabe said. He took the creased paper back from Jake, being careful not to touch his fingers. “It probably won’t be this hot for very long.”


“I know,” Jake said. “Are we done?” he asked, harshly enough Gabe’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry,” he said much more politely. “I mean, do I owe you anything now?”


“Yeah,” Gabe said. He hated this part. It wasn’t like he couldn’t use the commission, but he always felt guilty asking for money. He liked it a lot better when Dee or Rob was there to do the actual transaction part, but Gabe was going to have to cash out tonight. “There’s a hundred-dollar deposit. Canadian,” he added, as if Jake somehow wouldn’t have known that. If Jake hadn’t already thought he was an idiot, Gabe was sure that would’ve convinced him.


Chapter 7