Maya's POV
Pain explodes in my shoulder. Hot. Burning. Blinding.
I fall. Hit the ground hard. The gun skitters away.
"Maya!" Ethan catches me. "Stay with me. Stay awake."
Blood soaks through my shirt. So much blood.
Patricia stands frozen. Staring at her hands. "I didn't mean I was just trying to"
"You shot her!" Sophie screams.
Police burst through the door. Paramedics follow. Everything becomes a blur of voices and hands and pain.
"Gunshot wound to shoulder," someone says. "Arterial bleeding. We need to move now."
They lift me onto a stretcher. Ethan runs beside me. Holds my hand.
"You're going to be okay," he says. But his voice shakes. His face is white.
"Hope," I whisper. "Protect Hope."
"I will. I promise."
The ambulance races through streets. Sirens screaming. Every bump sends fresh agony through my shoulder.
I close my eyes. See my mother's face. Hear her voice. I love you forever, Maya.
