Black Hawk Tattoo
Toronto, Canada, 2006. A few months after the worst year of the Iraq war.<br><br>Gabriel Navarro splits his time between his job slinging ink at the Atlantis Ink tattoo parlor, and working on his masterās degree in fine art. Gabe is twenty-two, sure of his beliefs and his artistic integrity, and na?ve enough to think heāll never have to compromise. And then one night Jake MacLean walks into the shop and changes everything.<br><br>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 survivorās guilt, trapped in a losing battle to atone for a failure heās 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.<br><br>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 Jakeās claims that he's "fine" is far easier than dealing with the frightening truth. But soon itās horribly clear Jake canāt control his panic attacks or flashes of violence, and he's getting worse. If Gabe canāt help him face his demons, Jake is headed for a crash -- and thereās every chance heāll take Gabriel down with him.