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

“Luckily I’m not planning on moving to Indiana anytime soon,” Gabriel said.


“Good,” Jake said vehemently, then was shocked at the strength of his reaction to the idea Gabriel might leave.


Gabriel came up behind Jake and kissed his neck while he slid his arms around Jake’s waist. “I like it right here,” he said, as if he’d known Jake needed him to say it. He slid his hands up inside Jake’s shirt and gave a pleased hum at Jake’s tiny shudder. “Thank you for bringing me home for dinner.” He kissed the back of Jake’s neck again.


Jake smiled, relaxing into Gabriel’s touch. He finished scrubbing the skillet and rinsed his hands. “That sounds like I was going to eat you.”


“You can do that,” Gabriel said as Jake turned off the tap. The words buzzed through Gabriel’s lips on the back of Jake’s neck. Gabriel licked the same patch of skin with a quick dab of his tongue.


Chapter 75