"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Shadow Storm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

breath, and the pain of the first two blows ebbed and disappeared.

At length, the assault stopped. "Stacy Draybin," Matthew warned one
more time. Then he stormed from the room. As always, Mary Draybin
slipped in for her usual ceremony of supporting her husband and
comforting her daughter, as oblivious to the superhero as Matthew
Draybin had been.

Shadow Storm stepped back into his usual pose, an "S" still missing
from his bodysuit, blood trickling from beneath his mask. Standing as
sentinel and guardian.


The weekend passed too quickly for Stacy. She did nothing that anyone
would consider special with Sean Sterner. He could not afford to take her
to amusement parks or on trips, but the time spent cooking hot dogs over
a grill, clambering on playground equipment, and putting together puzzles
they had done a million times seemed enough. There was a quiet normalcy
to her time with her father that she would not have traded for all of
Disneyland. With him, she could forget the chaos and terror of her other
life.

But, as always, it ended too soon; and Stacy found herself back in her
normal routine, counting the days until the next visitation. She wished her
father would call sometimes, but she understood why he chose silence
instead. More than once, she had heard her mother claim Stacy was away
while she sat next to her on the couch. Other times, Matthew Draybin
slammed down the receiver without a word of explanation. The few times
Sterner got through, her mother and stepfather listened on the extensions;
and Stacy feared even to call him Daddy in their presence. Sterner gave up
on telephone contact, torn in another way from the daughter who loved
him.


That Tuesday, as usual, Stacy headed for the balcony, the concrete wall
cold and hard against her abdomen. She watched patterns of people
flutter by to the music of the myriad sparrows and pigeons that roosted in
the building's cracks. It seemed like an eternity before the familiar plaid
hat came into view, and a second lifetime passed until Sean Sterner
paused and waved.

Engrossed, Stacy did not hear the tingle of the wind chime nor notice
the second presence on the terrace.

Grinning, Stacy returned a vigorous greeting. She made the circular
motion, a code they alone shared. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered. For
that moment, time seemed suspended.

Then, reality intruded. Fingers seized her arm, bruising, and jerked her
away from the ledge. She watched in terror as Matthew Draybin leaned