Page 11 of Assassin's Obsession

"She is."

"That's a tough way to make your living. Those ladies work their asses off, and no one should be touching them without their permission." Calling Ronnie a nasty name in Italian, the old guy spits at his feet.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Friends call me Boomer."

No. That's one coincidence too many, but this guy cannot bethatBoomer. The son of an old friend of my nonno's,thatBoomer wasn't made. He was career Army.

Lots of dogs named Mars though. Lots of men who go by Boomer, especially former military.

I dismiss the similarities and ask, "You got any urges to go to the cops with what you've seen tonight?"

My gut saysno, but I always verify.

"Naw. Even if I didn't think thatstronzodeserves what's coming to him, I'm smart enough to know better than to go against the Cosa Nostra Hangman."

"I haven't heard that name in a long time." Hangman worked for Don Matteo, the first De Luca don. Just like my nonno. "Hangman is dead."

"I guess he would be. He was a lot older than me. Thought hangman was the job though."

"You knew Hangman?" How does Boomer know I have the same job for Severu as Hangman did for Don Matteo?

Do I look like an assassin? It's probably something in the eyes. Like a lack of a soul.

"I did." Boomer coughs and pounds his own chest to get his breath back. "Back in the day, he ran with my cousin. "

"Your cousin wasla famiglia?"

Fuck, these coincidences are getting too big to ignore.

"Our dads were loyal Genovese soldiers."

"Then what the fuck are you doing sleeping behind a titty bar?" If he's who I think he is, he should have plenty of money.

His dad wasn't just a loyal soldier, he was a smart one. At least that's what my nonno always said.

"My dad was Cosa Nostra. I'm not. I didn't want to be a soldier in the Cosa Nostra, so I enlisted to serve my country. Tobe a soldier with honor." His mouth twists like that belief is a sour memory.

"Your dad disapproved of your decision?" Disowning a child for not taking the oath had been the least violent response by men of that generation.

And it would explain Boomer's current circumstances. Every one of Don Matteo's crew were old school, just like my nonno. If nonno had been around when the time came, he would have beaten me bloody if I'd refused to take the oath.

Never a chance of that though, even if it got delayed by Don Enzo's order that I go into the Army to learn discipline. I mustered out in time to pledge my allegiance to him and serve as his personal enforcer for two years before his death.

"Told my dad I didn't want his dirty money. Thought a life like his was the worst one I could live." Boomer looks around the alleyway and shrugs. "Guess I was wrong."

Like my nonno, Boomer's dad is gone. Unlike nonno, Boomer's father died peacefully in his sleep in his retirement bungalow in Florida the year before last.

"You talk to your ma?" I'm guessing not, if he's living rough like this.

"She don't need a son like me. She's got three that did their duty by the family."

"One of them is in the graveyard with your pop." Got shanked in prison doing a stint for aggravated assault.

Boomer nods. "But he died in the line of duty.Like I should have." He mutters the last under his breath.

"Wasn't his duty to get caught." Was fucking sloppy is what it was.

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