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

“You’re going to pass out if you keep breathing like that. Can you breathe deeper? Like this, okay? Watch.” Gabriel took a deliberate, slow breath, and then another one. “Like this. Breathe like this.” He did it again and this time Jake tried to follow him. His breath kept hitching but he was able to finally slow it down until he didn’t feel like the world was narrowing to a cave about to swallow him.


“Yeah,” Jake murmured. “Thanks.”


“Anytime.” Gabriel leaned his shoulder against the wall and then watched silently while Jake got himself under control again.


“What?” Jake asked a minute later, because Gabriel was still staring at him.


“I was just thinking.” Gabriel licked his lips. “Okay…um, this is probably stupid but…Hang on a sec.” He shuffled around on the bed until his back was against the wall. Then he put his hand on the far side of Jake’s neck and pulled a little, so Jake ended up leaning against him. “Is this okay?”


Chapter 113