Chapter 16
Atlantis leaned in her seat as the horse trotted across the road, her son's chattering with Matthew echoing in her ears. With each new step the horse took, she grew more and more tense. She was scared of coming back to town and facing Heart again. However, she knew that it was something that she needed to do.
Her eyes drifted away to stop on Matthew's face and instantly, she felt at peace. The blood ran up in her cheeks as she remembered his kisses at the homestead and if her lips weren't still burning from the flame of his love, she would think that she was dreaming for sure.
As they turned right and the town showed up in a distance, Atlantis inhaled a deep breath.
And like a response to that, Matthew gently circled her waist with one hand. Still keeping a watchful eye on the road in front of them he whispered, "You're not alone."
She swallowed hard, her shivering palm grabbing his hand as the ice cold sweat ran down her forehead. The fear was consuming her, but she tried to stay focused on Matthew, not to think about what was about to come…
Matthew stopped the horses in front of the clinic and looked around. It was lunch time and everybody was at Grace's. He stepped down from the wagon and smiled as little Matthew rushed to get down as well, impatient to go and find Katie so he could inform her about his day. The moment his little feet touched the ground, he squirmed out of Matthew's hold and rushed toward the café, calling for Katie.
"He sure is eager to see her," smiled Atlantis, her nerves calming down a bit.
She looked at Matthew standing beside the wagon and slowly got up from her seat. He gently held her waist to help her down from the wagon, and as she slid down, her body brushed gently against Matthew's. A shot of electricity ran through her and she could feel her breath coming quicker as her hands rested on Matthew's shoulders. As she looked up at the blue orbs that were looking at her with so much love all her fear disappeared. Her right palm touched his cheek, gentle as a breeze, and she searched for his lips, wanting to feel his love warming her again. As her lips softly touched his lips, Atlantis closed her eyes, getting lost in the moment, allowing herself for few minutes to forget about everything else…
Matthew accepted her kiss, encircling her in his arms, making her feel like he just built the wall around them, protecting her from any harm. She made his heart pump faster with each breath she stole from his lips, and when she tried to pull away, he stopped her by gently pulling her closer and pressing his lips more passionately on hers. She silently moaned as she felt his tongue entering her mouth and her hands hugged him tighter around his shoulders.
A few minutes later, Matthew's lips became gentler until Atlantis felt as if butterflies were touching her lips. Slowly, they kissed more and gentler until they pulled away from each other. Atlantis looked at Matthew's face, breathless by the passion and love that made his eyes a dark blue. No matter how many times he kissed her, she still felt like it was only a dream. It was too good to be true.
Neither one of them said a word. Matthew's hand hugged her around her waist and as her face rested on his shoulder, they headed toward the café.
They were in front of the entrance when Atlantis stopped, "Wait, I forgot Matthew's teddy bear in the wagon. I'll be right back." She placed a gentle peck on Matthew's cheek and turned to go back toward the wagon.
Matthew smiled watching her go and turned around to look for little Matthew in the café.
And at that moment, everything happened faster than it would take an eye to blink.
Gunshots pierced the air and the people in the café got down on the ground, children screaming and crying. Matthew was about to run to get his family out of danger and he opened his mouth to call Atlantis when he heard her terrified scream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Spinning around, Matthew managed to only catch a glimpse of a black horse running like the devil itself was chasing him and a rider grabbing Atlantis from the ground.
"ATLANTIS!" Matthew's scream reached the sky and he quickly ran toward the wagon, trying to release the horse from it. "DAMN IT!!," he cursed when his hands couldn't do it.
"Matthew!! Matthew, what happened?" Sully's voice was heard as the tomahawk cut the reins, releasing the horse. Matthew quickly mounted the horse and Sully only heard three words, "He took Atlantis!!" before his son rode fast after the mysterious rider.
"Sully?" Michaela's voice was heard and Sully turned around to look at his wife. She was a wreck of nerves, "That's Atlantis husband. He will hurt her, he did it before."
"I'll go after them," Sully quickly said before he rushed to get his horse from the livery, "Robert E., I need my horse!"
"I'm going with you," Michaela stated firmly.
"Michaela, no. It is far too dangerous," protested Sully.
"She might be hurt!" Michaela protested back.
"Mummy?" All off a sudden, little Matthew's voice was heard, and Michaela and Sully turned around to see Atlantis' son standing a few steps away from them.
Michaela's heart broke at the terrified facial expression the little boy had. Katie was by his side, looking confused and scared.
"Come on, darlings, come with me," Loren quickly came to the rescue, picking up both children in his arms. "Your Mum will be fine. If anyone can save her, it's Matthew." As the little boy buried his face in Loren's shoulder, sobbing loudly, Loren looked at Dr. Mike and Sully, "Hurry!"
As Dr. Mike and Sully got on their horses, Colleen ran toward them, "Ma, Pa… I don't see Heart anywhere!"
Michaela and Sully shared worried looks.
"We'll find them, Colleen," Sully shortly said and without another word, they were gone.
~*~
Matthew slapped the reins, sending his horse into gallop, but still felt like he was moving too slowly. The black horse was far away in front of him, yet he could still hear Atlantis' screams.
"ATLANTIS!!" he called her name, wanting her to know that he was close and that he wouldn't abandon her.
From the distance, she heard his voice and tried to break away from the iron hold her husband had on her. "MATTHEW!" she screamed.
The rider looked down at her, his eyes flashing with anger, "So… It's him. You named that little bastard after him."
Atlantis eyes went wide in fear as she saw the gun shining in front of her eyes, "Say good bye to your Matthew."
"MATTHEW, GET DOWN!" Atlantis screamed, her lungs almost tearing apart, and the cough started to rise up in her throat.
"SHUT UP!" her husband yelled, abruptly stopping the horse and throwing Atlantis on the ground. "I'll finish this right now and then you'll get what you deserve!"
Atlantis tried to get up and run, but just as she was about to do it, a hard kick landed on her face and everything went black. She fell onto the ground, unconscious.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Matthew yelled and before Atlantis' husband could turn around, Matthew jumped from his horse, pushing the man in front of him, causing both of them to fall down. With a few punches, Matthew managed to kick the gun out of the man's hand and just when he was about to get in a fight, a knife's blade shone in front of him. As the man launched himself at him, Matthew bent down and moved to the right, avoiding the sharp blade. He quickly caught the man's hand, bending his arm on his back, causing him to yelp in pain.
"I'll take that knife," grumbled Matthew, getting handcuffs out from his pocket.
And just as the handcuffs clicked, Matthew felt something sharp piercing through his left arm, causing him to moan in pain and shock. Looking down, he saw the blood dripping from his upper arm.
"You got too involved, Mr. Cooper," through the fog, Matthew heard the familiar female's voice and turning around, he noticed Heart standing in front of him with a gun in her hand. His eyes caught a glimpse of Atlantis lying on the ground, not moving. Anger boiled inside of him and he went toward Heart.
"Stay right there, Mister Cooper or I will shoot you right now," Heart gritted her teeth.
"What kind of mother are you?! How can you put your daughter through all this?" Matthew yelled.
"Give me the key, sheriff," Heart held out her other hand. Matthew looked down at her palm and reminded himself to not move too fast. He was the only chance Atlantis got.
"All right, take it easy," he said, picking up his right arm as if he was going to get the key of the handcuffs, his eyes never leaving the gun in Heart's hand.
As his hand reached inside his pocket, a wince was heard from the ground and Atlantis silently mumbled, "Matthew…"
It caught Heart's attention and for a mere second, she looked down at the young woman – and Matthew reacted in a blink of an eye, grabbing her hand and taking the gun away from her. The weapon shot in the process and Matthew felt another shot hitting him, this time under his ribs.
"MATTHEW!" Michaela screamed as she watched in slow motion her oldest son falling on the ground, next to Atlantis.
Sully jumped from his horse, just in time to stop Heart from running away. He grabbed her and the man laying a few steps away and tied them with a rope. Then he whistled for Wolf. As the animal showed up beside him, Sully shortly said, "Go, get some help, boy." Wolf barked and was gone before Sully could even blink.
Atlantis' eyes fluttered open and she gasped seeing Matthew lying beside her, not moving. "Matthew… Matthew, no… Don't leave me, Matthew." Despite the pain she felt she moved toward him, sobs choking her, "No, darling, no, don't leave me. Open your eyes, Matthew."
"Atlantis!" Michaela fell down on her knees beside the young girl.
"Dr. Mike, Matthew first. He's hurt badly," sobbed Atlantis.
Michaela sprung into action. With Sully's help, she turned Matthew on his back and gasped as she noticed the two bullet wounds. Checking them quickly, she mumbled "The bullet went through his arm, but the second one hit him under his ribs and stayed there. I have to get it out, quickly. He's losing a lot of blood."
"You can do it, Michaela," Sully knew that his wife was terrified because it was their son who was in danger, but she needed to stay calm for Matthew's sake. "Remember Chief Black Kettle. You took the bullet out of him in a second. You can do it now as well."
Atlantis lay down beside Matthew, too weak to sit up. She cried more and more with each second that passed while Dr. Mike worked quickly on removing the bullet from Matthew's body.