He obliged and handed her his personal phone.
For a long moment, she stared at the numbers on the screen, her eyes blurring. “I don’t know the number to dial,” she admitted softly. “All my contacts are stored on my phone.” She looked into the EMT’s eyes. “My phone was on the dive boat.” She held out the phone to the man.
He took it and asked. “Who are you trying to call?”
“My friend, Kalea.” Her voice hitched on an errant sob. “Her husband, Hawk—Jace Hawkins—was a Navy SEAL. He runs a security agency on the Big Island.”
The EMT’s eyebrows rose. “The Brotherhood Protectors?”
Hope bloomed in Kimo’s chest. “Yes. That’s it. You know it?”
“I’ve heard of them. They’ve done some work on the island. I’m sure we can get a number for them. Maybe they you can hook you up with your friend’s husband.”
Kimo tried to sit up. The straps held her back. “Yes. Please. See if you can find it. The Brotherhood Protectors might be able to help us find Alana.”
The EMT thumbed the information into his phone. A moment later, he grinned. “I have it. Calling now.” He pressed his cell phone to his ear and waited. “This is Josh from the Maui EMS. I have Kimo Kekoa with me. She’d like to speak with Jace Hawkins. It is? Well, then let me hand her over.” He held out the phone to Kimo.
Kimo’s fingers curled around the cell phone as she pressed it to her ear. “Hawk?” Her voice shook.
“Kimo, what’s going on?” Hawk’s voice was gravelly, as if he’d just woken up. “Are you hurt?”
Hawk’s deep voice filled Kimo’s senses and made her eyes flood with tears. “They took Alana,” she blurted out on a sob. With her thoughts in turmoil, the urgency of the situation forced her words out in a rush. “We were night diving. They ran her over, then dragged her aboard. They tried to run me over and fired bullets into the water... We have to find her. By now, they could be anywhere.”
“Hey, hey,” Hawk said in a calming tone. “Slow down and give me all the details. I have you on speaker. Kalea’s here with me.”
More tears welled in Kimo’s eyes. “Oh, Kalea. I’m sorry to wake you both.”
“Oh, Kimo. Don’t worry about that. This is what we do. What’s important is finding Alana.”
“Kimo, I need you to start over,” Hawk’s voice cut in. “Who took Alana?”
“I don’t know,” she cried. “We were diving in Maalaea Bay. They showed up out of nowhere.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in an attempt to calm herself. Once she had her pulse and breathing under control, she started over, telling them everything she knew about the attack from the moment the boat showed up to when it disappeared with her dive boat in tow. “The Coast Guard has been alerted. They’re sending out a boat from the Maui station and a helicopter from Oahu.”
“About how long ago did this happen?” Hawk asked.
Kimo glanced at her dive watch. “Almost four hours ago.” She swallowed hard on a sob threatening to rise up her throat. “We have to find Alana. She could’ve been hurt badly when the other boat struck her.”
“We’ll see what we can find out from the police and Coast Guard. In the meantime, I’ll send a couple of men out in boats to aid in the search and another to cover you.”
“I’m not the one in trouble,” Kimo insisted. “Send them all out to find Alana.”
“They attacked you both,” Hawk said.
“Why would they target us?” Kimo asked.
“You could’ve interrupted a nefarious assignation,” Hawk said. “They might have been running drugs or illegal weapons. The fact that you spotted their boat could’ve been enough to make them want to eliminate any witnesses.”
Kimo’s breath caught as the fog clogging her mind cleared. She remembered what they’d found on the ocean floor. “The shipping container. Oh, my God.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as the images of what they’d found roiled in her memory. “Right before we were attacked, we found a shipping container on the seabed.”
“A shipping container?” Hawk prompted. “Did you see what was in it?”
“Yes. Oh, sweet Jesus... There was half a dozen decomposed bodies inside. I was so worried about Alana and getting away, I can’t believe I forgot about those poor people.”
“Did you tell the police?” Hawk asked.
“No.” She looked at the EMT whose brow had furrowed. “I need to tell them. They need to know to send someone out there.” Her chest squeezed so hard she could barely breathe. “If those men were responsible for the deaths of those people...” Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. “They have Alana.’
“Talk to Kalea,” Hawk said. “I’ll relay the information to the Maui PD.”
