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

“Can I stay over at your place tonight? If that’s okay?”


“Where are you? Are you at your house? What happened?”


Jake was impressed by how well Gabriel kept his voice calm, even as he and Jake exchanged looks of wide-eyed concern. They’d met Hype’s family, after all. She wasn’t safe with them.


“It’s nothing,” Hype said too quickly. “It’s just that my mom’s fucking boyfriend hit me. And…and I don’t want to stay here anymore. So, can I stay with you? Just for a while, please?”


“He hit you?” Gabriel’s face morphed from wide alarm to tight, rigid fury, and Jake felt anger settle on him like a cold blanket. “Did you call the cops?”


“No.” Another sniff, and Jake could imagine Hype shaking her head. “It’s okay. He wouldn’t have done anything except he got drunk and started bitching me out about the money again. But he’s sleeping now.”


“He hit you! You can’t just let him get away with that,” Gabriel insisted. “What if he does it again?”


Chapter 90