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 blinked and then bit his tongue to keep from laughing. “You’re not actually awake, are you?”


“No,” Jake said, which could have been in response to a different conversation entirely.


“It’s okay, Jake. Go back to sleep. I’m right here.”


He waited until all he could hear from Jake was soft, even breathing before he finally stood up, stifling a groan and shaking out his legs one at a time.


Gabe was still tired, but after being awake and talking, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to go back to sleep again.


Sighing, Gabe carefully grabbed his boxers from the floor beside Jake’s bed and pulled them on, then smiled down at Jake.


Jake had been so concerned about inadvertently hurting Gabe in his sleep, he’d insisted he would stay in the guest room upstairs. Alice was working late and Molly was doing some slumber-party birthday thing at a friend’s house so Jake wasn’t worried about being near them, he said.


Chapter 76