299 THE CONFLICT

The ride home was more of a quiet one. Madison did not react to Ethan's humorous remarks. She couldn't possibly believe what she had seen back at the hotel. Her mind sought to fight off every possibility of Ethan being in contact with Kate. The name from the caller ID on Ethan's phone had seemed all too familiar. Even though she wasn't able to grab the full name. Just a glimpse of the name had her heart racing. There was every possibility that Kate had escaped. Perhaps Ethan had helped her out. She sat motionless on the passenger seat, with arms folded in akimbo and a frown across her lips. She kept a straight face while Ethan took to the wheel, moving from one road to another as they headed home. "Hey babe… look at that." Ethan said while pointing at some wild zebras scattered across the countryside. "Oh great!" Madison said, then turned to have a quick look at the zebras that were all over the countryside "I can never get enough of this view. Even for 100 years," Ethan said, ac