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

“And you really didn’t know he was Hype’s brother?” Jake asked.


“Nope,” Gabe said. “But now that I do, I wish I’d said I’d ink him, because he deserves to look like an asshole for the rest of his life. Not that he doesn’t already.”


Hype laughed. “I wish I could’ve seen you turn him down.”


“Awesome. That is so awesome.” Hype grinned at them both, then seemed to suddenly realize she’d barged in on a tattoo session. “Oh—don’t mind me.” She grabbed a stool from a nearby station. “I’ll just sit over here.”


“It’s fine,” Jake said, and he was smiling, so Gabe figured he really meant it. Jake was confusing the hell out of him.


Jake turned his head to the opposite shoulder so he could rest his cheek on his arms and still look at Hype. “Gabriel and I were just talking about American and Canadian food.”


Chapter 73