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

They didn’t break apart for a long time, until Jake suddenly put his palm on Gabe’s chest and gently pushed him away. “I’m sorry.” He looked like he’d only just remembered this was something he couldn’t have.


“Hey.” Gabe stepped forward to close the distance Jake had made between them then put his hands on Jake’s waist, holding him there. “I didn’t tell you to stop.”


Jake stared at him. “You mean…I can…” He made a helpless gesture that took in both of them. “You want this? With me?”


“No. I was thinking of propositioning Hype,” Gabe said. Then he grimaced. “Ugh. Forget I said that. That’s creepy.”


“I really don’t want to think about Hype right now.” Jake leaned in to kiss Gabe again, but stopped with his face close enough, the tips of their noses touched. “You’re sure this is okay? I mean, I want this—I want you—more than anything. But…” He pulled back, looking miserable. “I don’t want to hurt you again.”


Chapter 123