CHAPTERSEVENTY-SIX
Ryan
“But . . . but is the brother alive? I thought Ignacio died in the plane crash?” Emmy’s eyes were glued to the computer screen. They all were.
“They all thought Ignacio died! But he didn’t,” Poppy said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “And watch this!” She spoke with her mouth full and pointed at the screen.
“Eeeewww! What’s he doing with all those frogs?” Emmy cringed in her seat.
“He’s harvesting the poison on their backs and using it to make poisonous darts!” Tamlin suddenly said.
Ryan burst out laughing “Who makes poisonous darts from the poison found on the backs of frogs?”
“He does!” Poppy turned and smiled up at him. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor and had kicked off her shoes. Her hair was messily piled up on the top of her head. She’d changed into a baggy, oversized tracksuit top and had pulled on a pair of comfortable-looking leggings. She looked so beautiful, he was struggling to keep his eyes off her and on the computer screen.
“And watch this part!” Tamlin sat up straight and pointed at the screen. “It’s one of my favorite parts!”
Ryan leaned forward to look closer.
“Wait . . . who are they?” Emmy was transfixed, and Ryan looked over at her.
He smiled to himself. He liked seeing her like this.
“Those are the evil cannibals who took him in after the plane crash,” Poppy quickly piped up. “They taught him to be evil.”
“Very evil!” Tamlin quickly reiterated.
Ryan burst out laughing again. “He was looked after by cannibals in the Amazon rainforest? Why didn’t they just eat him? This storyline makes no sense whatsoever.”
“Because,” Poppy turned around and looked at him as if she was going to make a long-winded point, “because . . .” She paused and looked like she was thinking. “Alright, you have a good point there, I have no idea why they didn’t eat him!”
“Here comes Ramona, watch this part!” Tamlin pointed excitedly at the screen. “We have a celebrity in our house.”
Ryan leaned in, curious to see her.
And then there she was. She looked exactly the same as the day she’d barged into his office. She filled the entire screen with the same intriguing energy she’d brought to his office.
Emmy burst out laughing. “Those glasses . . . how could anyone believe those were real? They look totally fake.” She was laughing even more now.
“Theyarefake—she’s actually a spy in disguise, but we don’t know who she’s working for yet. They killed her before we could get to that,” Tamlin added.
Ryan felt a smile tug at his lips as Poppy turned around and looked at him with a knowing look.
“Shall I get the head of the army on the phone, sir?” Poppy’s character suddenly said, looking panicked and flustered.
Damn, she looked fucking cute like that!
“Yes, Miss González,” the man spoke. He was tall, with a chiseled jaw that looked almost cartoonish and big poofy hair that looked like it had been blow-dried.
“I’ll tell him it’s an emergency. I’ll tell him it’s a code red. I’ll tell him there’s been a breach in the radioactive containment field and the rats have mutated and are now very, very hungry.”
“WAIT!” Ryan slapped his hand on the couch and laughed. “Mutated radioactive rats?”
“Shhhhh!!” Emmy and Tamlin simultaneously shushed him.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” Poppy’s character said. Her big amber eyes widened and twinkled in the light.
“Yes!” The man with the massive jaw narrowed his eyes and then widened them again. “There is, Miss González.” Then he launched himself across the room and grabbed Poppy in his arms dramatically. He dipped her and looked deep into her eyes.
