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 nodded. He looked at Hype. “What are you doing on the washing machine?”


“Being exploited!” Hype said loudly.


“She’s my counterweight,” Gabe explained. He suppressed a sigh, sure Jake had changed the subject on purpose. “It keeps the machine from vibrating around the floor.”


Hype crossed her arms and glowered at Gabe. “He makes me fold, too.”


Gabe rolled his eyes for the second time in less than twenty minutes. “Yeah, yeah, your life is so hard. Move your butt and help me put the clothes into the dryer.”


“Sure,” Gabe said casually, despite the surge of giddy warmth in his chest. It was the ordinariness of Jake’s request, like they did this stuff together all the time. Or like Jake wanted to be with him enough that it didn’t matter if they were doing annoying crap like laundry.


Hype grinned smugly when he looked at her, like someone twice her age. “Told you,” she said.


Chapter 66