Mio Amore Rosso

A Coup of sorts

Jason's POV

The club was surprisingly busy considering it was only six. Some people sat at the bar, others were spread out at the tables and booths. The lights were low and some up beat pop music was playing throughout the building.

Overall it wouldn't have been a bad evening to have a date night.

Tim walked beside me, his hand in mine as I led us to a booth near the back. Only a few other people were back here so I wasn't too worried about anyone overhearing.

Not that it bothered me that much in the first place, but I know most prefer to have business dealt with privately.

I turned to ask Tim where he'd prefer to sit and watched him look around, seeming distracted. "Hey, you good baby?" He nodded, turning to smile at me, but I knew he was tense. Hell, so was I. This wasn't exactly a happy get together with old friends. "It'll be okay Tim.

Hopefully, this meeting will help calm our nerves about some things. It'll be over before you know it."

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right. We could all use a little reassurance." He leaned up to kiss my cheek then looked at the booth. "Can I sit to the outside? I'm not a fan of the window."

I raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded. "Of course baby." I sat down first and moved over so he could sit next to me.

It wasn't long before I saw Roy walking over, followed by two men and a woman. My stomach churned in anticipation and I knew Tim was feeling the same way as he grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. His face was completely calm though, to my suprise.

Maybe he wouldn't be too bad at this Mafia stuff.

When Roy finally made it to us, he stood beside Tim, crossing his arms as he leaned his hip against the booth. He preferred to stand in situations like this. The one time I asked him why, he simply stated that it was easier to grab his gun.

He took a breath before introudincing us "Jason, Tim, this is Mrs. Quinzel." She chuckled as she sat down. "Just me now sugar. It stopped being Mrs. after Jack, well, you know."

She flashed me a bright smile that was oddly spirited. It definitely matched her perky, high pitched voice.

"Well, Ms. Quinzel-" she cut me off with a shake of her head. "Oh, sugar just Harleen is fine. Actually, Harley is better, but I'm not sure we're there yet." She just smiled, sitting back against the cushion.

I pursed my lips together for a moment then nodded. "Right. Of course. Well then, Harleen, thank you for meeting with us." She nodded then looked at Tim. My gaze moved to him too.

He looked confused and something told me he wasn't expecting this at all. If I hadn't been raised around odd characters, I would have been more on the shocked side too.

Though she was odd, she wasn't anything like Jack. That at least was a relief.

The two goons that were with her stood similarly to the way Roy was and although I knew he was on full alert, I knew Tim was still anxious and restless.

"Well well well, you're the little guy that Jack fussed so much about." Tim sputtered, trying to defend himself. "Oh, don't worry sugar, he's gone and I have no intentions of hurting that cute face of yours."

She laughed and I felt Tim relax slightly beside me. "You don't? So, you don't have any plans or know of any plans to try and hurt me again?"

She seemed taken back by Tim's question and for the first time during our odd conversation, she looked serious. "Oh, oh goodness no! Absolutely not. Jack was crazy. The plan he hatched to hurt you just to get Jason's attention, well, I knew it wasn't gonna end good. Just because he was my husband does not mean I followed him around like a good little wife."