Boyfriend From Hell (Falling Angels Saga) by E. Van Lowe Read Free Book Online Page B

content smile that frightened me. I think I was frightened because she seemed so… happy. Now don’t get me wrong, I want my mother to be happy. I do. You know, the kind of happiness like when I was in the third grade and made a Mother’s Day card out of construction paper and Fruit Loops. The smile on her face back then was precious. That was the kind of happiness I could handle.
    But this… this was a happiness I couldn’t be a part of. What was going on here? The whole thing was not making sense. Armando was acting as if he was interested in her.
    Does he think she’s a rich widow sitting on her dead husband’s fortune? Bingo!
That had to be it. Armando was a gigolo who had targeted my mother as some rich, lonely widow.
    It was a crazy thought, I know. I was in the process of telling myself just that when the faint fragrance of incense drifted in.
     A chill washed over me. It was the same incense from my bedroom that night. I had the creepy feeling I was being watched.
    That’s silly. Who would be watching me?
    Casually, I began looking around, pretending to admire art, while secretly scanning the crowd. I was about to give up when I saw her, an elderly woman. Her pale skin was road mapped with deep creases, her once-jet-black hair streaked with gray. She wore an oversized black gown that reminded me of someone in a horror flick. She looked as out of place as I did. And her gaze was so intense.
    My skin began to crawl as I realized the elderly woman was not staring at me. Her eyes were transfixed on my mother.  
    I found myself rushing across the floor, arriving at my mother’s side.
    “Hey, Mom, umm—”
    “This must be the daughter you’ve been bragging about all evening,” a man in the group said. “She looks just like you.”
    “Yes,” my mother said proudly. “Megan, meet Sir Bradford Romanoff.”
    “Oh, hi,” I said, quickly shaking the man’s hand. Then I turned to meet the gaze of the old woman who had been staring so hard. I was going to let her know I was on to her.
    But she was gone.
    Quickly, I scanned the crowd in search of her.
    “Megan, dear, is everything all right?” Armando asked, his voice leaking concern.
    “Yeah,” I said. “Just fine.”
    I continued scouring the party goers, searching for the old woman, but she was nowhere to be found.
    The rest of the evening was a blur. I knew I hadn’t imagined it. There was a strange old lady staring at my mother. I didn’t know why, but I felt it had something to do with the dream.
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Tran Phung lived in a large, beautiful home with a yard featuring a southwestern landscape. Many colorful cacti were professionally placed amid the sand and scrub brush. I recognized the Mexican lime cactus with its blood red needles, and the large saguaro, which was the centerpiece of the garden.
    The Phung family room was equally impressive with a large plasma screen TV on the wall.
    I arrived early and helped Tran setup the card table where we’d be working. He printed out a hundred problems, which we placed in a stack on the table. We also set out legal pads and pencils for each of us.
    I looked at my watch. 12:10. We were scheduled to start at noon.
    “Have you heard from Guy?” I asked
    “He’ll be here,” Tran said confidently. “He knows how important this is.”
    “I’m sure he does,” I replied, summoning up the image of Guy winking at me. I stifled a smile.
    A few minutes later Guy strolled in wearing a black t-shirt with a photo of Albert Einstein blown up on the front.
    “Cool, man,” Tran said, pointing to the shirt.
    “Thanks,” Guy replied. He looked at me, his eyes twinkling.
    “Albert Einstein was a high school drop out,” I suddenly said. The words just popped out of me.
    Shut up!
I told myself. Cute boys hate when girls sound too smart.
    “Get out,” said Guy in disbelief.
    I nodded. “He eventually went back and finished, but only because he failed the entrance exam at the Swiss Federal