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

The server bounced over to them, notebook and pen poised like a literate Labrador retriever. “Hi, guys!” she enthused. “My name’s Shawna. Can I get you anything to drink?”


“Water,” Gabe said immediately. “And a chocolate shake.”


“Sure thing,” Shawna chirped and scribbled. She turned to Jake. “And you?”


“Nice to meet you, Shawna,” Jake said, smiling winsomely. “I’ll take a beer. Whatever you’ve got in a bottle,” he added, preempting Shawna, whose mouth was already opening to list the more than likely forty different kinds they had on tap.


“Bottle,” Shawna said, scribbling intently. Her cheeks had pinked up, as defenseless against Jake’s looks as Gabe had been. When she suggested Molson Dry, Jake nodded and kept smiling, though Gabe was pretty sure he would’ve said yes to anything.


Gabe hadn’t expected Jake to order more alcohol. He hoped Jake wasn’t going to get drunk; Gabe really didn’t want to have to deal with that.


Chapter 16