The Tracker Read online

  THE TRACKER

  The Dregs Book 1

  Leslie Georgeson

  Copyright © 2018 by Leslie Georgeson

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author.

  * * *

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Other Titles by Leslie Georgeson

  About Leslie Georgeson

  Connect with Leslie Georgeson

  Want a free book? Join my email newsletter and receive a free copy of my angsty, bad boy romance, SCARRED. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/c8M9X1

  THE TRACKER

  I’m a trained killer. An expert tracker.

  I’ve done despicable things. My soul is damaged. My body impaired. That’s what happens when you are a soldier for The Company. I was discharged a year ago. Now I am a dreg. Worthless. With a bounty on my head. I’ve become a creature of the night, hiding in an underground maze during the day. Because I’m not ready to die yet.

  She comes to me one night, needing my help to find her sister. The moment I see her, I want her. Her goodness calls to me, makes me yearn for the impossible. She brings life back to the deadness inside me. I’m no good for her. I will do nothing but corrupt her. But I’m a callous bastard. I can’t resist her.

  I try not to care for her, but somehow she slips under my skin. She makes me weak. And there is only one thing in this world I am afraid of. Weakness.

  I’ll never be good enough for her, so I have to finish this job and send her on her way.

  Before she destroys me.

  PROLOGUE

  The boy came awake gradually, his senses picking up the strangeness around him. Cold. He shivered. Dark. He blinked. He was in a cell of some kind. On a bed. A bottom bunk. A light out in the corridor enabled him to see the wall of bars locking him in. Water dripped from somewhere close by. A leaky faucet? He sat up slowly and took stock of his surroundings. He spied a small sink attached to the concrete wall next to a toilet across the small cell.

  Prison. He was in some kind of prison. His heart raced. How had he gotten here? What had he done?

  Someone moaned from a cell down the hall. Another person was crying pitifully from somewhere in the distance. A chill crept down the boy’s spine.

  The bunkbed shifted above him. He tensed. Who was up there? What would that person do to him? He’d seen movies and heard all the horror stories about what happened to people in prison. He swallowed hard.

  Please don’t let that happen to me.

  The bed wiggled again as someone leapt off the top and landed on the floor in front of the boy. He reared back as a big, redheaded kid stared down at him. A teenager. Sixteen? Seventeen? He was tall and broad. Mean-looking. Intimidating.

  The redheaded kid’s lips stretched into a smile, a startling contrast to his frightening appearance. “Hey.”

  Taken aback, the boy stared. A friendly giant? He drew in a deep breath, puffed it back out. “Hey.”

  “My name’s Gordon.” The bigger kid held out his hand.

  The boy hesitated, then shook Gordon’s hand. “I’m…” He drew a blank. Panic slammed into him.

  Who am I?

  His mind was frozen, nothing but blankness inside. Who was he? Why couldn’t he remember his own name?

  Then it came to him, like a flash of light in the dark. “Liam.” He sighed in relief. “My name’s Liam.” He glanced around the cell again. “Where are we? Why am I here? My head’s a little fuzzy.”

  Gordon nodded. “It’s the drugs they gave you. You’ll get used to it eventually. Before long, you won’t even remember your own name. They’ll give you a new one, depending on your skills. That is, if you survive long enough to learn some skills.”

  Liam’s heart pounded harder. That didn’t make sense. The last thing he remembered was…he searched hard for a memory of some kind, but only came up blank. He couldn’t remember anything except his name, and that had barely come to him. He clung to that memory, not wanting to forget his name.

  Liam. My name’s Liam. Don’t forget it. Don’t forget.

  My name is Liam. Liam.

  I’m Liam.

  Liam who?

  No last name came forward. No middle name. Just Liam.

  It would have to be good enough.

  Liam.

  How old am I?

  He glanced down at himself. Faded jeans. Black hoodie. Converse sneakers. Wiry build. Not as old as Gordon.

  He stared blankly at the big, redheaded kid.

  How old am I?

  Twelve.

  He glanced back down at himself.

  Yeah. I’m twelve. I think.

  Panic gripped him again. He couldn’t be sure. What was going on? Why couldn’t he remember anything?

  Gordon’s words finally sank home: It’s the drugs they gave you.

  Liam’s heart rate kicked up even more, galloping in place like a tethered thoroughbred. Drugs? Who were they? What had they done to him? He shouldn’t be here. He should be home with…who? His family? Did he even have a family?

  His head hurt, a fierce pounding that made him want to scream in agony. He clutched his head in his hands and groaned softly. “Why am I here? Why? I don’t understand.”

  Gordon shrugged. “Why are any of us here? Because we’re expendable. I just hope you last longer than my last roommate did.”

  Liam snapped his head up, the headache screeching to a sudden halt. “What happened to your last roommate?”

  Gordon eyed him with a seriousness that made Liam flinch. “He didn’t
survive the first round of tests.”

  Tests? What tests? What was this guy talking about?

  “This is freaking me out.” Liam jumped up from the bed. He paced across the cell to the bars. Staring out into the corridor, he shouted, “Help! Let me out of here! There’s been a mistake!”

  A big hand gripped his shoulder. “Won’t do you any good, Liam. You can scream and cry until you’re hoarse. They won’t free you. You’re not a human being anymore. You’re a test subject. A lab rat.”

  Liam spun his head around, his gaze locking on Gordon’s. “What do you mean? Who are they?”

  Gordon sighed. “They are The Company. They own us now. From this point forward, you just need to concentrate on staying alive, because you can’t run, and you can’t hide. You’ll never escape.”

  He gave Liam a sympathetic pat on the back and turned away.

  “Welcome to hell, roomie.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  Fifteen years later

  Jessica

  “In there!”

  The child pointed into a dark cavernous hole that ran underneath the haunted mansion in the forest. No door marked the entrance. I wouldn’t have even seen it if the kid hadn’t pointed me in the right direction.

  I had followed the boy for nearly an hour through the dark Loblolly pine forest to this place, holding my tiny flashlight in front of me like a sword. The centuries’ old abandoned estate valiantly fought to remain standing, the half-crumbling structure sitting on acres and acres of woodland, far from civilization. I could imagine that in its prime, it had been majestic. Now it was just a skeleton of what it had once been.

  I cautiously glanced into the fathomless pit. Where did it lead? Cool air stirred around me, tickling my face, sending a chill down my spine. A warning? Go away, stupid girl. Nothing but evil resides down here.

  I jerked back, my heart pounding.

  “Are you sure?” I turned back to the boy who’d led me here, but he’d vanished into the forest, leaving me alone in this eerie place.

  I shivered, unable to hold back my fear. The wind blew through the trees around me, filling my nostrils with the distinctive rosemary scent of the Loblolly pines. A tree trunk creaked in the wind. A pack of coyotes howled somewhere off in the distance, a series of staccato yips, yaps and barks. Then…silence.

  I shined the flashlight around the woods. The old mansion sat along the edge of the Oconee National Forest, on the outskirts of the small town of Eatonton, Georgia. My search for The Tracker had brought me to this place in the woods, a place I hadn’t even known existed until a few hours ago.

  The sudden silence around me might give the illusion that I was alone out here. But I knew better. All sorts of things lurked in the darkness, in the shadows. Watching. Waiting to pounce.

  I shivered again and wrapped my arms around myself. It wasn’t cold outside—night temperatures in mid-summer Georgia rarely dropped below 65 degrees—but fear could make a person freeze in seconds.

  I can do this.

  This place—the darkness under the old mansion—was supposedly where the dregs lived. I’d been told that very few people knew of this place, and those who did know didn’t share the information with others. Because if they told, they died.

  This was a secret place. A dangerous place. The boy who’d shown me had made me swear not to tell a living soul. He’d warned me that if I told anyone, not only would I die, but he would as well. Now he was gone, somewhere into the dark forest, while my fate remained to be seen.

  I glanced back into the dark hole. It was rumored that the dregs were once powerful warriors who had been cast aside when injuries prevented them from continuing their duties. They now resided here in the forest, apparently beneath the old mansion. People said the dregs had been snatched off the streets as young boys and trained to become ruthless mercenaries for some secret organization—perhaps even the government. The dregs were now creatures of the night—wounded warriors with tortured souls. It was rumored that if you saw a dreg, it would be the last thing you ever saw. Any woman with an ounce of intelligence in her brain wouldn’t dare venture near this place.

  But I was desperate.

  I wanted to believe that everything I’d heard about the dregs was just rumors. But no one really knew the truth about them.

  I forcefully pushed back the shiver of fear that snaked down my spine.

  You’re doing this for Eliza. Be brave. You came all this way. You can’t chicken out now.

  I took a deep breath, tried to relax.

  You’re going to get her back.

  I glanced back into the darkness beneath the old building. It had to be close to eleven o’clock now. Past bedtime for most people. Were the dregs awake down there? Somewhere in that black tunnel was the best tracker money could buy. Known only as The Tracker, he was fabled to be one of the dregs, a former soldier who’d sustained an injury so severe that he’d been forced into early retirement. The Tracker could reportedly track down anything that moved. Human or beast. If anyone could find Eliza, it would be him.

  But first I had to find him. Then I had to convince him to help me find my sister.

  The problem was, I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have anything to offer The Tracker for his services. I’d brought a backpack full of folded papers that looked and sounded like money until you opened it and discovered it was nothing but old newspaper. Could I convince him it was real money just long enough to get him to agree to help me find Eliza? It was a foolish idea, but I was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Once Eliza was safe, I’d worry about how to repay The Tracker.

  He would likely turn me down flat. Or kill me. If he was a beast like some people said, then chances were I wouldn’t come out of that tunnel alive.

  What if he doesn’t fall for it? What if he wants money up front?

  I swallowed hard. Then I was screwed. Or I’d have to offer him something else for his services. I tried not to think about what he might expect in lieu of money. A personal slave? Sex? I cringed. But I would gladly give up my body if it saved my sister. I’d do anything for Eliza. Anything. I would lie, steal, cheat, kill for my sister. She was all I had left in this messed up world. I was prepared to die if I had to. I would do whatever was necessary to save Eliza.

  I would find her.

  With The Tracker’s help.

  Courage, Jessica. You can do this.

  I fumbled with the flashlight I’d brought, shining the meager light into the underground tunnel. Nothing but concrete walls and blackness and endless tunnels that veered off in different directions. As I stared into the darkness, panic gripped me. It was like a maze. If I went in there, I might not ever find my way out.

  Not true. I didn’t get lost. Ever. As long as I paid attention, I would find my way back out.

  Nothing but evil exists in there. Turn back now, while you still can.

  A soft hiss of air alerted me to another presence. My heart slammed against my ribs.

  I swung the flashlight around, searching the darkness.

  Nothing was there.

  A ghost. It was probably a ghost. Not that that made me feel any better.

  Taking another deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves.

  A ghost can’t hurt me, right? It’s dead.

  I let out a near hysterical laugh. That didn’t help me to relax at all. I wanted to turn tail and flee back to Augusta as fast as I could.

  You can do this, Jessica. You have to. It’s the only way to get Eliza back.

  Shining the light in front of me, I forced myself to cautiously enter the dark tunnel. Cool air stirred around me, as if someone had opened a door and the release of pressure forced the air through the tunnel. Something moved closer through the darkness—the ghost?—brushing against the back of my neck. Goosebumps jumped to attention on my skin. My heart hammered in my chest, ready to burst free from terror. The earth suddenly tipped down in a sharp incline, catching me by surprise. I stumbled forward, tripping an
d nearly falling, my legs automatically moving me down the incline, somehow keeping me upright. The ghost disappeared, its presence vanishing as silently as an owl in the dark forest. The ground gradually evened out and I slowed to a walk.

  Something small and furry darted in front of me. I let out a soft scream and leapt back, the sound echoing off the walls around me. The flashlight beam bounced with my movements, giving the impression of things lurking in the shadows and inching closer in the dark. Hinting at danger everywhere.

  Get a grip, Jess. It was only a rat.

  And I’d just announced my presence to every creature living in here. Human or beast. There was no use creeping forward anymore. Whatever was in here now knew I was here. Not that I could have hidden for long. But I needed more time to gather my courage.

  Forcing back my terror, I stood still and listened.

  Quit being a wimp. If you hadn’t left Eliza alone and defenseless, she wouldn’t have been stolen.

  I shoved the guilty thought aside. I had no one but myself to blame for her disappearance.

  Another ghostly presence loomed in front me. Invisible, yet definitely there. It wasn’t giving off an evil vibe. Just—curiosity. Was the ghost wondering what had possessed me to come in here? Foolish girl, it seemed to say.

  A door slammed from somewhere in the darkness.

  My heartrate kicked up. Someone was coming.

  The ghost disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, just a small shift of air, then it was gone. I almost wished it would come back so I wouldn’t be alone.

  Not wanting to stand there frozen like an idiot, an easy target for any hungry creature that came upon me, I cautiously moved forward, counting my steps as I went, making note of each turn—right or left—for future reference. When it was time to leave, I would need to remember the way out. I’d been blessed with an excellent memory. I could store things in my mind and recall them later when necessary. Some people referred to it as a “photographic” memory, but it wasn’t only images I stored in my brain, it was memories, events, things. That’s why I never got lost. I always remembered the way.

  Concentrate, Jess.

  Shining the light in front of me as I went, I followed the tunnel deeper underground, rounding a corner, then another. Wall after wall of concrete, some of it crumbling with age. I noticed light sconces mounted high up on the walls, but the bulbs were either broken or non-existent. What was this place? Did people actually live down here? Corner after corner, deeper into the maze I went. Everything looked the same. Concrete. Darkness. Cold. No more ghosts greeted me as I ventured deeper into danger. Did they know something I didn’t? Were they too afraid of whatever existed in here? If the ghosts were afraid, then I was truly in danger.