Yes, of course. Ground rules. Threatening a man in his own house is, in general, a pretty good way to get his hackles up. Being no exception to this, Erik smiles, in that thin way he does when he doesn't feel like smiling at all, draws a deep breath in and pushes it out through his nose. There's that little knot between his eyebrows, finally come home—it's never gone for too long.

"Sorry, what was that?" Please feel free to reconstruct that sentence.