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

“Oh.” Gabe stopped her before she went downstairs. “Are you going home tonight? I don’t mind if you want the couch.”


“Sure, that’d be fine.” Hype said it like it was no big deal, but Gabe could see the relief she was trying to hide. It made him sad.


“Hurry up,” he said. “You’d better be ready by the time I get back.”


“Screw you,” Hype said. She went down the stairs.


Gabe chuckled as he trotted up the two flights to his apartment above the studio.


Jake reached the Bloor-Yonge subway station at a fast walk and descended the worn steps. Almost no one was out this late on a Monday night, and even the college and high school kids weren’t hanging around in this heat with nothing interesting going on. The station was deserted except for the weary Toronto Transit Commission employee who nodded when Jake dropped his token into the fare box.


Chapter 8