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’s got a boyfriend! Gabe’s got a boyfriend!” Hype singsonged. She leaned over further to try to snag the innocuous blue-striped boxers off the table. “Ooh—can I touch them? Are they silk?”


“Cut it out.” Gabe snatched the boxers away from her groping fingers. “I wash your gross clothes all the time. Does that make me your boyfriend, too?”


Gabe handed her more clothing. He folded Jake’s shirt more carefully than he did his own stuff, then folded the boxers and put them on top of the shirt, well out of Hype’s reach. Jake’s jeans and socks were in the load in the washing machine. Jake still needed to bring back the shorts and T-shirt Gabe had loaned him, but Gabe didn’t mind.


Chapter 65