Page 54 of Kiana's Hero

When Dev got off the phone with Hawk, he appeared as if he felt marginally better. “My boss promised to gather the other men from Kauai and Maui and bring them to Oahu before nightfall. They’ll be geared up and ready to hit the ground running.”

“That’s good to know,” Kiana said.

“I have the communications equipment as well as the weapons Hawk sent with Reid,” he said as if ticking items off in his head.

“Now, all we need is for Silas to be telling the truth,” Kiana said, “and for him not to spill the beans to the other members of his gang.”

“Yeah.” Dev’s lips twisted. “The last thing we need is to walk into a trap.

“If Silas cares so much about his girl and their baby, he’ll do whatever it takes to see to their safety,” Kiana pointed out.

Dev nodded. “As long as the Brotherhood Protectors have Lacy and her baby, Silas should do what needs to be done.” He glanced at Kiana.

She met his gaze, her brow furrowed. “This all sounds so dangerous,” she whispered.

“It is,” he said. “When it comes to drugs, there’s a lot of money involved. People will kill for that kind of money.”

Kiana wrapped her arms around her middle and shivered. “Do we really need to be there for the shipment? Will that shipment give us any idea where to find Meredith?”

Dev had also considered that. “If we can trace the drugs back to the man who shipped them, then yes.”

“That’s a big if,” she said. “I’m sure he’s put a lot of effort into keeping his identity secret. He hasn’t made it easy for the gang to trace, so it won’t be easy for anyone else.”

He gripped her arms and smiled. “We have Swede. He’s the master of tracking things down.”

At that moment, Dev’s cell phone chirped. He let go of Kiana, pulled his phone out of his pocket and grinned. He tapped to receive the call and then put it on speaker. “Speak of the devil.”

Swede laughed. “You wouldn’t believe how often I hear that.”

“I’d believe you get that a lot.” Dev’s smile faded. “Just so you know, I’m here with Kiana, and you’re on speaker.”

“Good. She’ll want to hear this,” Swede said.

“Tell me what you know,” Dev said, “and I’ll tell you what we know.”

“Deal,” Swede said. “I found Martina Akana’s children.”

Dev frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I found their birth certificates,” Swede clarified. “All three of them.”

Dev’s eyes widened. “Say that again?”

“I found the birth certificates of all three of Martina Akana’s children,” Swede stated.

“Three?” Kiana’s brow dipped. “We only know of two—the one she was pregnant with at sixteen and the one she had three years later.”

“There was another six years after the second child.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Kiana said softly. “Tina M.”

“What were the names on the certificates?” Dev asked.

“That’s why I called as soon as I had them,” Swede said. “I thought the names were interesting.”

Kiana leaned forward. “Why?” She held her breath, waiting for his response, a strange feeling washing over her as if whatever Swede had to say would be something that could potentially change her life.

Swede paused for a moment, then answered, “The first baby girl, born thirty-one years ago, was Kiana Samantha Durbin.”

---