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, yeah, sure,” Gabe said. He tapped the spiral binding of the sketchbook. “So, um, is it okay?”


“Yeah,” Jake said seriously, his voice quiet. “It’s good. It’s a good picture. It…it looked a lot like this. You’re really talented.”


“Thanks,” Gabe said. He knew his stuff was good, but he couldn’t help basking a little in the praise. “But most of it’s just what you told me.”


Jake nodded. He was focused on the sketch again but he kept glancing away, like the picture hurt his eyes. “The desert was a little…” He looked at Gabe as if for confirmation. “Bumpier? There were more rocks, where we were.”


“Sure,” Gabe said. “I can put in more detail, but it’ll make the tattoo take longer.”


Chapter 19