Page 57 of Hard Knot

I stop spinning, facing them both with my hands on my hips.

"If Holmes wants to intimidate me with his perfect museum of a house, he's going to have to try harder. Because right now?" I gesture to a particularly austere black and gold painting that probably cost more than my entire life. "All this tells me is that someone's trying way too hard to prove something."

The silence that follows my outburst is deafening.

Carter and Felix exchange a look I can't quite interpret, and for a moment, I wonder if I've gone too far. But then Carter's face breaks into that devastating grin that made me want to climb him like a tree in the first place.

"You," he says, stepping closer to cup my face in his hands, "are absolutely amazing."

I try to maintain my defiant expression, but it's hard when he's looking at me like that—like I'm something precious and wild all at once.

"I'm serious," I mutter, though my voice has lost some of its edge. "This place needs some personality. Some life. Something that shows actual humans live here and not just very wealthy robots programmed for aesthetic perfection."

Felix clears his throat, and when I look over, he's definitely fighting back a smile.

"The hidden cameras and speakers aren't just for show," he says, tapping his glasses meaningfully. "They're part of an integrated security system I designed. The house learns patterns, adapts to threats, and can run autonomously if needed."

My eyes widen with interest.

"Really? That's actually pretty cool. Is it AI-based or more of a sophisticated pattern recognition system?"

Now it's Felix's turn to look surprised.

"You know the difference?"

I shrug, trying not to feel self-conscious under his scrutiny.

"I might have taken some computer science classes at Harvard before..." I trail off, not wanting to complete that thought. "Let's just say I had diverse interests before dancing became my current obsession."

"Interesting," Felix murmurs, and I can practically see him filing that information away for later analysis.

Carter's hands drop from my face, as he enjoys brushing a few strands that fell from my messy bun hair style. He immediately finds my lower back again, guiding me down another hall toward what I assume is Holmes's office.

"Ready to meet the man behind the aesthetic tyranny?" he asks, his tone light but with an undercurrent of something more serious.

I straighten my spine, squaring my shoulders as if I’m ready to confront some sort of final boss in a video game.

"Bring it on," I say, even as my heart starts racing. "But just so you know, if his office is all black and gold too, I'm going to have opinions about it."

"Of course you will," Felix mutters, but there's definitely amusement in his voice now. Carter leans down to whisper in my ear as we approach a set of imposing double doors.

"Just remember," he says softly, "no matter what happens in there, you've already got two out of three of us on your side."

I turn to look at him, surprised.

"Really? Both of you?"

Felix adjusts his glasses again, and this time I'm sure I see a smile.

"Anyone who can call out the pretentiousness of this place within five minutes of arriving has my vote," he says. "Though I might regret that when Holmes makes us all sleep in the garage for letting you criticize his decorating choices."

"At least the garage probably has some personality," I quip, making both men stifle laughs.

"Well," I say, squaring my shoulders, "let's go meet the king of this very expensive, very soulless castle. But seriously, after this, we need to talk about adding some color to this place. I'm thinking maybe a nice electric blue. Really shake things up."

I take the lead in walking forward, and the last thing I hear is Felix muttering,

"Holmes is going to eat her alive," followed immediately by Carter's confident reply.

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