MO GRÁ | Derek Morgan

chapter eleven

Leah's hand trembled as she pressed her phone to her ear. Outside her apartment, the early morning light cast long shadows across the sidewalk.

"Come on, pick up..." she muttered under her breath, pacing.

"Yeah?" came the groggy voice on the other end.

Leah exhaled in something like relief. "Jason. It's me."

There was a pause. "Leah?"

"Yeah. I—God, I'm sorry for calling so early. I just didn't know who else to—"

"Leah, are you okay?" Nate was fully awake now, his voice shifting from surprise to concern. "What's going on?"

"Look, I wouldn't be calling unless it was important."

"Tell me what's going on."

Leah stepped away from the window, trying to stop her mind from spiraling. "There was a box on my doorstep last night."

"A box?"

"Not from Amazon or anything. No label, no postage. Just... just a box with the letters, KM on it."

Nate was silent for a beat. "And you think it's from him."

"I know it is," she said, her voice shaking. "Same style. Same initials, No note, but it's him. I'd bet my life."

Nate cursed softly. "Where are you right now?"

"Still in D.C. I never left the city." She paused. "I thought about it a million times, but I always figured if he wanted to find me, he'd find me no matter where I went. "I didn't want to drag you into it. Not again. And for a while... it felt like maybe I'd imagined him. Like he wasn't real, until you showed up the other day."

"But the box proves he is."

Leah's voice lowered. "Yeah."

There was a knock at her door.

Leah flinched, spinning toward the sound.

"Leah?" Jason asked sharply.

"Someone's here."

"Don't open it."

She didn't. Her feet remained rooted to the floor. The knock didn't come again, but she stared at the door like it might explode. After a few tense seconds, she heard retreating footsteps. Her heart only slowed slightly.

"I don't think it was him," she said quietly.

"You think he's nearby?"

Leah nodded, then realized he couldn't see her. "Yeah. The box is just the first game."

"What was inside?"

She hesitated, "a necklace, one he gave me."

Jason swore under his breath. "He's taunting you."

"I know."

"What do you want me to do?"

The question caught her off guard. She hadn't really thought that far. She had acted on panic, on instinct. The moment she saw the box, she felt that old fear crawl up her spine like icewater. And her first thought had been him.

"I need your help," she said finally. "I just don't know how."

"I'll come to you," he said and he promised he'd be there in under an hour. After she hung up, Leah sat in the chair by the window, knees pulled to her chest, watching the street.

< 𝑀𝑜 𝒢𝓇𝒶 >

"We should get in there before they come out and drag us in," Morgan said, catching my attention as I sat at my desk, lost in thought. I looked up, nodding in agreement.