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

Gabe stood again and got the studio’s hand mirror. Gabe angled the small mirror so Jake could see his back in the much larger full-body one. “Here, check it out. I can move it if you want, but I think it looks great where it is, personally.”


Gabe kept himself from asking again if Jake actually wanted the tattoo. He put the mirror away and stripped off his gloves, then went to rewash his hands, taking longer than he needed to so he could get his brain in gear. Jake really hadn’t seemed like the cadaver type when he’d come into the shop, but so far the session felt as grim as a funeral and Gabe hadn’t even started working yet. Gabe let out a tiny sigh as he turned the taps off and dried his hands. He’d be able to concentrate on the tattoo, which was good, not to mention keep his libido in check. But five hours was already starting to feel like an eternity.


Chapter 34