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

He held out his hand for her to shake, not wanting to be responsible for how wary she looked. “My name’s Jake,” he said. “And I’m not a cop.”


“Oh, cool,” she said and seemed to relax a bit. She even shook hands with him, although she looked weirded out by it. Her palm was damp. “I’m Hype.”


“Hi there, Hype,” Jake said, thinking of his niece and how she liked it when people used her name. Hype was older but a kid was still a kid, he figured. “Pleased to meet you.”


“Sure,” Hype said. “You’re here waiting for Gabe, right?”


“Yeah.” Jake said. No point in denying it. “He’s, uh…he’s designing a tattoo for me.”


“Yeah, I saw it,” Hype said. “That Black Hawk Downthing.” She circled one of her hands in the air in a vague imitation of turning helicopter blades. “Pretty intense.” She cocked her head. “Did that, like, really happen?”


“No way.” Hype was staring at him with eyes as big as the Canadian two-dollar coins. “How come you’re still alive?”


Chapter 24