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His eyes twinkled with amusement or excitement, and his posture remained completely at ease. I had no clue how he could be so goddamn composed. “Long enough.”

“You’re being vague.”

“Yeah,” he said easily. “I know, mate.”

Silence flooded in thick and fast. Ava’s socked feet shifted, her toes pointing toward the door. Kirby let out an audible breath.

“Are you here alone?” I asked.

“Right now? Yeah.”

“And before that?”

He tilted his head. “I mean… people come and go. Especially these days.”

“The couple in those photos,” Ava said. “They’re not coming back, are they?”

Jeremy’s eyes softened a little. “No.”

Kirby muttered, “Oh, hell.”

We still had to leave here on foot while he could follow us in his car. We’d messed up by handing over our shoes and weapons, but I could be pissed off about that later. “What did you do?”

He huffed a loud breath as if we’d disappointed him. “Don’t be like this, guys.”

“Like what?” I asked, pushing off the doorframe.

“You’re thinking the worst of me,” he said. “It’s been a rough couple of days, right? You’re tired, and tiredness makes everything feel worse than it really is.”

“Right,” I said. “We’ve heard enough.”

With any luck, the car keys would be near the front door. If not, we’d overpower him and search the house.

“Let’s go.” I ushered Ava and Kirby past me and followed them down the hall, keeping a close watch on Jeremy. He strolled behind us with the ghost of a smile on his face, as if he knew something we didn’t.

Kirby reached the foyer first and stopped short. “What the fuck? He took our shoes.”

Ava bumped into her, then turned and faced me. “Our weapons are gone, too.”

The rack beside the door was empty. No shoes. No nail gun. There were only two places he could have transferred them in the seconds he was gone—the lounge room or the main bedroom off the foyer.

“Wait, guys. It’s all good.” Jeremy sidled past Kirby and into the bedroom doorway, standing with his feet spread apart like a guard. “I’m just trying to stop you from making the wrong decisions,” he said. “Too many people around here make bad choices, you know?”

We’d played his fucked up game long enough. “Where’d you put our shoes and weapons? Hand them over now, and we’ll leave quietly.”

“Aw, don’t worry about it, mate,” he said. “You can make as much noise as you want.”

Jeremy reached down sideways without bending his knees, his left hand disappearing behind the doorframe.

My brain stalled, then realisation rushed in all at once. I lunged, knocking Ava sideways. “Don’t—”

It was too late.

I’d been expecting my nail gun. An axe. His hand came into view again, clutching a rifle.

“Motherfucker,” Kirby whispered.

Ava didn’t move, but I could almost hear her thinking.