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

Gabriel grinned. “Well, I want you to, too. So what’s the problem?”


“You won’t.” Gabriel leaned over enough to put his hand on Jake’s chest, as if he could feel beneath the skin to what was inside his heart. “I know you’re not going to hurt me.”


Jake swallowed. “You have more faith in me than I do.”


Jake thought about the blisters on his feet, and how he’d walked back to Atlantis Ink from Alice’s house because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the subway again. He already couldn’t handle flying. He had two locks on his bedroom door because of his nightmares. “Okay.”


Gabriel beamed at him, bright as the sun. “Just don’t forget to tell your sister this time.”


“I won’t. I promise.” He put his hand over Gabriel’s on his chest, hoping Gabriel couldn’t feel how fast his heart had started beating.


Please let him be right, he prayed. Please, God, don’t let me hurt him.


Chapter 58