Aundrea Singer

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

“How is it,” Jake asked, slowly running his knuckles up and down from the curve of Gabe’s waist to the  lightly freckled bend of his knee, “that you’re a tattoo artist and you don’t have a single tattoo of your own?”


“Hmm.” Gabe shifted his leg to get more of Jake’s caress. “I hate the sight of blood—my own blood, that is. I don’t mind other people’s all that much, at least not in small amounts.”


“What about your earrings?” Jake asked, using the question as an excuse to suck gently on the pierced lobe of Gabe’s nearest ear.


“That tickles.” Gabe squirmed. “And I kept my eyes closed.”


Jake chuckled, but he let Gabe’s ear go. “So why don’t you get a tattoo on your back?”


“I wouldn’t be able to see it there.”


Jake shook his head, grinning. He leaned down to run a trail of gentle kisses along the line of Gabe’s shoulder and the side of his neck. “Only you.”


Chapter 47