“I know, Rachael. No one thinks you’re hysterical. Just stay calm and when we’re alone, we’ll talk about this.” His heart was pounding as frantically as hers. The possibilities were incredible, almost unbelievable to him. He wanted time to think about it, to do a little research before he provided answers. “Just one thing, Rachael. Have you ever heard the words Han Vol Dan before? Did your mother ever say those words to you or mention them in her stories?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer, feeling as if his world teetered on the edge of an abyss.

Rachael turned the words over in her mind. They weren’t entirely unfamiliar, but she had no idea what they meant and she was fairly certain her mother had never included them in her wild rain forest adventures of the leopard people. “I don’t know. My mother never said those words to me, but…” she trailed off in confusion.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“What does that mean? Han Vol Dan? The words flow like music.”

“It’s all right, don’t think about it right now,” Rio reiterated. “I hope you really aren’t blaming yourself for what happened to Kim. I’ve been rescuing kidnap victims for some time all along this river and in three countries. My unit is hired to go in and bring victims out. Sometimes the government contacts us because it’s a politically sensitive situation and other times it’s the family asking us to get them out. And still other times we deliver the ransom and make certain nothing goes wrong so we can return the victim to his home. In nearly every incident where Tomas and his group are involved, the victims have suffered beatings. He’s one of the bloodiest of the bandit leaders. Most consider themselves businessmen. If the money is paid, they deliver the people they’ve taken in good health.”

Rachael shook her head. “It’s just a way of life to them? Kidnapping people? How do their families feel about what they do?”

“Most likely they’re grateful for the money coming in. Some do it for political reasons, and those situations are much more explosive and much more dangerous to my team. And anytime we’re going after someone Tomas has kidnapped, we know it’s dangerous both to them and to us. Tomas has killed hostages even after the ransom’s been paid. His word means nothing at all, to him or to anyone else.”

“Have you met him?”

He nodded. “A few times. He’s crazy and a bit drunk on his own power. He’s been known to kill his own men for a perceived slight. He’s death on women. I think he likes to hurt people.”