Tangled Innocence Read Online Free Page B

he
didn’t go to her, just stayed away as he had all this time.
    “Why don’t we just sit down and talk this over?” Jace said
as he stood between the two, worry lining his face.
    “Why don’t we just talk about what Dante wanted to talk
about, huh? And why I should be in here with the two of you when I don’t even
know you, and when Dante hasn’t even given me any indication he’s ever wanted
to be alone with me. No, he’s always been part of the crew but with a clear
line drawn.”
    She faced him then, the pain on her face lancing through him
like a hot blade. “I don’t even know what’s going on right now.”
    “Then sit down and let me get it out,” he said, wincing at
his lack of tact. He’d had thousands of years to learn how to speak to women,
and apparently he’d thrown it all out the window with the one woman and man who
mattered.
    “Good one,” Jace mumbled then turned to Nadie, effectively
cutting Dante off.
    He needed to breathe, to understand what the hell was going
on with him. Gods, he’d been walking on eggshells and killing himself over what
was happening for far too long, yet he had no idea how to use a little finesse
to say what needed to be said, needed to be done.
    This wasn’t like him, and he didn’t want to become whoever
this man was.
    “I’m Jace Goodwin, Nadie.”
    Her eyes sharpened, and she snapped her fingers. “I know
that name. You’re the man who helped Hunter and Becca.”
    Dante let out a sigh. Yes, this would be a good place to
start. Get her to know who Jace was then slide into the fact that she was the
key to their future and happiness.
    Yes, no pressure at all.
    He ran a hand over his face then clicked his tongue ring
against his teeth. He had to calm down. It wasn’t every day he had a chance to
reveal she was not only mate to one but two people.
    Jace sat down at the table next to Nadie, and Dante pulled a
chair so they sat in a triangle, able to see each other fully. “Yes, I’m the
one who helped Hunter and Becca with their Pack. Though, in reality, they did
most of the work themselves. I was just there in case they needed me.”
    “That’s not exactly how Becca put it.” Nadie shook her head.
“She said you were a mediator or something?”
    Jace grinned, and Dante relaxed. The bear’s smile always
soothed the beast within, and Dante knew, at least in their case, it had more
to do with who the man was than his position as a Mediator of the realms.
    “I’m a Mediator. Capital M if you care about those sorts of
things. My role is to go to warring, or about-to-war, Packs, dens, and other
realms, and try to find a way to peace. If that doesn’t happen, then it’s my
job to take out those who break their oaths or find new treaties and other ways
of keeping the realms safe.”
    Nadie tilted her head, her gaze never leaving Jace. Dante
could tell she felt the pull toward the other man, the same pull he himself
felt for Jace and Nadie, the type of pull he knew she felt for him.
    “Becca said you’re a…bear, right?”
    Jace grinned even harder, and Dante had to grin, too. Jace
was always in a good mood and tried to make others feel the same unless
something or someone he loved was threatened, then Jace was the bear inside him
in all ways that mattered.
    You didn’t fuck with Jace Goodwin.
    “Yes, a grizzly as a matter of fact. Not as big as the
dragon over there, but one of the larger paranormals.”
    Nadie’s gaze shifted between the two of them, and she
frowned. “It’s good to meet you, but I’m still confused as to why Dante wanted
me to meet you and talk with both of you.”
    Dante swallowed hard. “I think you know, Nadie. At least
some of it.”
    She shook her head. “No, you need to say it because whatever
is going on in my head makes no sense and is so far out of the realm of what
has ever happened to me that I’m not even going to say it.”
    Dante had a feeling whatever she was thinking was perfectly
on the right track, or at least