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

“Hey! Hey! I’m sorry! Please don’t leave.” Gabe grabbed Jake’s arm to make him stop, and Jake whirled on him, his expression black with rage. Jake yanked his other hand back in a fist, and Gabe froze, absolutely sure Jake was going to hit him.


And then Jake seemed to realize what he was about to do and sheer horror flashed across his face. He deliberately opened his hand and lowered it back to his side.


“Let go of me.” His voice sounded like grinding stone.


“No,” Gabe said, and then, more loudly as the frustration came back, “no! I’m not letting you walk away from this. I’m sick of not knowing anything about you, Jake! I know something terrible happened in Iraq, and I’m so, so sorry you had to live through it. But I don’t understand why you want to get something that terrible inked all over your back. And you won’t tell me why! Why, Jake? What are you doing this for?”


Chapter 87