“Oh no you don’t,” Jed growled and set off after him.

Only this time, instead of chasing the demon soldier alone, Nisha, Eli, and Bex were at his side. The Dark One moved with preternatural speed and made for the northeast corner.

“Don’t kill him. I want to take him alive,” Jed yelled as he saw Eli bringing his weapon up.

“What?” the veteran Shepherd said.

“We need to know what happened here.”

With an angry grimace, Eli lowered his aim and unloaded a four-round volley at the Dark One’s legs. One or more rounds connected because the fleeing demon warrior stumbled and fell. He quickly scrambled to his feet, but not before the Shepherds were on top of him. It took all four of them to subdue the man and none of his teammates emerged unscathed from the melee—Bex earned a bloody nose, Nisha had deep fingernail gouges dripping blood down her neck, and Eli and Jed received multiple fresh contusions for their efforts.

They carried the Dark One, flex-cuffed and gagged, writhing and bucking, back to the delivery truck that had been used as a battering ram to break into the courtyard moments earlier. When Jed climbed into the front passenger seat, he was surprised to see Gayle behind the wheel.

“You’re bleeding from your ear, Jed,” Gayle said, concern in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve felt better,” he said, shutting the passenger door. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Anytime.” She whipped the truck around in a circle to exfil down the alley.

“Took you long enough,” Jed said, wincing in pain as he turned in his seat to look at Eli in the back.

“Well, we had to finish dinner first,” Eli said, pulling a black hood over the Dark One’s head.

“Did you at least bring me my burger in a to-go container?”

Eli kicked the Dark One in the stomach and then turned to Jed. “Sorry, bro. I didn’t want it to get cold, so I went ahead and ate it. And let me tell you, it was the La Bestia-est burger I’ve ever had.”

Jed shook his head. “Thanks for that.”

“Easy day,” Eli said, grinning and using the Navy SEAL catchphrase just to rub it in.

“So what’s the plan?” Gayle said. “We just drew a whole lot of attention to ourselves. No way I’m taking this guy back to the hotel, and I don’t have anywhere to hide him here in Cuzco. Campos is already watching me . . . I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to get dragged into whatever it is you’re planning.”

“I understand, but we’re going to have to keep him in this truck until a company plane arrives,” Eli said. “We flew commercial on the way down, but the head shed is bringing in a bizjet from Brazil for our exfil.”

“You already talked to Morvant?” Jed said, surprised.