A weird mix of surprise and relief swept through me. Surprise because I really hadn't been expecting it, and relief because not all my skills had been placed beyond my reach.
He didn't know about the alternate shape, that inner voice whispered. He couldn't prevent what he didn't know.
Which still left me wondering how the hell anyone could prevent a shifter from shifting.
I shoved the thought aside and swooped upward, gaining height. Maybe if the vamp thought we'd given up he'd slow down - and make it easier for me to drop down on top of him.
But it soon became obvious he did have a second escape option. From high above, I could see lights beginning to twinkle in the distance. It looked like some sort of farmhouse, and it had various outbuildings. What were the odds that at least one of those buildings had a vamp-ready car waiting to go?
Or worse yet, help?
I might not have been chasing him for very long or very far, but I'd already run out of time. I swooped downward, folding my wings and flattening out my body to streamline it as much as possible. As I got closer, I shifted shape, moving back to human form. He sensed me then, but spun around rather than looking up.
I rolled in the air and hit him feetfirst, smashing him down into the soil and landing half on top of him. The sheer speed behind my dive had me stumbling forward, fighting to keep my balance. Behind me, the vampire snarled - a sound filled with pain and anger.
I swung around and saw the vamp shake his head, sending blood and snot flying, then he pushed to his hands and knees. I didn't give him the chance to rise fully. I didn't even give him the chance to see me. I just twisted around and lashed out with my foot. My heel smashed into the side of his face and the force of the blow knocked him sideways, sending him flying back.
He struggled again to rise, but this time I threw myself at him, hitting him with all the force I could muster. His head snapped back, and he slumped to the ground.
I pushed off his back then hauled him over. He might be out cold, but I was not about to bet that he'd stay that way. I tore the sleeve off my shirt and used it as a gag, prying open his mouth and shoving the knot into it as extra insurance against a bite. He wouldn't be happy once he woke, but right then, I couldn't care less.
With that done, I hauled him up and over my shoulder, letting him flop like a bag of grain over my back. If he happened to wake up, he'd be in pain.
Part of me hoped he did wake. Both Landsbury and tonight's victim might have deserved the death they'd received, but that didn't make their killer worthy of fair treatment.
Harsh, one part of me whispered.
At least he's not dead, another retorted.
All of which made me wonder if half the reason for the gaps in my memory was a desire not to remember exactly what I'd been or done in the past.
I turned around and trudged back toward Harris and the shattered helicopter. It might not have been far, but by the time I arrived, I was hot, sweaty, and tired. The vamp wasn't big, but that didn't mean he was light.
Surprisingly, there was no one else there yet. Harris obviously hadn't called in help. The helicopter rested on its side like some forgotten child's toy and the pilot lay beside it, trussed securely with wire that had obviously been ripped out of the copter. He was bloody and bruised, and looked rather the worse for wear. He was also unconscious.
Harris was leaning into the fallen helicopter, pulling out bits of papers and scanning them, but swung around as I approached. Relief touched his features as he dropped the paperwork and walked across to me, grabbing the vamp by the waist and hauling him off my back. I sighed in relief and rubbed my aching shoulder, watching Harris dump the vamp on the ground beside the pilot.
"How come you haven't called for assistance?" I asked.
"Because," he said, swinging around to face me, "I tried ringing Mike but he's not answering his phone. And if you're right about there being a plot surrounding you, then I don't think it's wise to let too many other people know that you helped me bring down a vamp. "
I frowned. "The young officer saw me running with you, and the vamp certainly knows I brought him down. I wouldn't think either is going to keep my presence a secret. "
"Did the vamp actually see you?"
I frowned. "No. Why?"
"Because you were shadowing when we were racing up here. Benny wouldn't have seen you, and he wasn't close enough to scent you. So if the vamp never actually saw you clearly, then we don't have a problem. "
I'd had no idea that I was shadowing. Obviously, whatever had been done to my mind had somehow switched my "other" skills from conscious to automatic. "The vamp never bothered looking around to see who was chasing him, and I never gave him the opportunity once I brought him down. "
"Good," Harris said. "Then leave, and make sure no one sees you. Loop back the long way if you have to. I'll take care of these two. "
"Will the cells at the station be strong enough to hold the vamp?"
He smiled. "They're strong enough to hold werewolves. They'll hold a vamp. "
I wasn't so sure, and maybe my expression said as much because Harris added, "But we have several pairs of titanium handcuffs. We'll use those on the bugger, just to be sure. "