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

Jake didn’t protest as Gabe led him into the bedroom, though Gabe thought he might just have been too tired to make the effort. But Jake threw him a glare when Gabe tried to help him get undressed, so Gabe backed off with his hands up and waited patiently while Jake struggled out of his T-shirt and wet jeans.


“That bruise looks pretty bad,” Gabe said once Jake was finally down to his boxers. It had turned into a thick purple line that ran from his ribs to his hip. Gabe brushed his fingertips down Jake’s side. “Does it hurt?”


“Not really.” Jake twitched and Gabe pulled his hand away.


“Okay,” Gabe said on a breath. “Lie on your front. I want to see how your new ink is doing.”


Jake lay down with his arms crossed under a pillow. “Is it still okay?”


Chapter 62