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

“I hope so.” Alice tilted her head toward the stairs. “You need to go read Molly her story. It’s already past her bedtime.”


“Yeah. I’ll eat after.” He let out a silent breath as he climbed the stairs, wondering dully if his sister was ever going to trust him again.


He just wanted the fight to be over. His newly tattooed skin pulled with each step, reminding him he needed to remove the plastic wrap Gabriel had put on it and clean it. Jake wanted that to be over, too. Maybe then he could feel normal again.


You’re just tired, he told himself as he sat on Molly’s bed and pulled her into his lap, apologizing for getting her wet again. Luckily the words and story were so simple, he barely had to pay attention to what he was reading. Being punched with needles for two hours had taken a lot out of him, and he was exhausted anyway. Always fucking exhausted.


Chapter 61