Read Matt & Michelle 1: The Fugitive Heir for Free Online

what did Jonas’ message say?”
    “What?” Michelle brought her gaze around to face me and it seemed some tension went out of her. I decided it would be best to keep her attention away from the view port and her attention off of undiscovered and, I hoped, non-existent wormhole creatures.
    “The reply from your father. What did it say?”
    “Oh, right. Hang on.”
    Michelle bent over her pad for a few seconds before handing it to me.
    Dear Daughter, I am unsettled over this development. I would like to know more about this beau before you take such a long trip. Stay in touch and don’t forget to be successful.
    “Most of that makes sense, I guess. But what’s that bit about being successful? Is that another code phrase?”
    Michelle looked away. “It sort of is, but that’s Daddy-speak rather than codewords for work.”
    “What does it mean?”
    “Mom and Daddy have drilled certain ideas into me over the years. The path to success was one they harped on over and over.” Michelle paused for a few seconds. When she resumed speaking, it was obvious she was reciting something. “To be successful, finish school before you get married and get married before you have children.”
    There was lots of data backing up that simple advice, so I nodded. “Yeah, my aunt and uncle have told me basically the same thing. So what?”
    “I think Daddy figured out how I feel about you watching the way I reacted to you last night.”
    “Okay. What’s that got to do with— Oh! Um, I see.”
    “Yep, this is Daddy’s subtle way of telling me not to get pregnant. Remind me to kick him in the shin when we get back.”
    “So, are there any other messages hidden inside his message?”
    “Yes, there’s an actual code phrase in there, as well. The bit about staying in touch means he’s going to claim you’ve been kidnapped.”
    “Kidnapped? I guess it will explain what happened to us-”
    “To you. No one will wonder about me.”
    “ I would have wondered about you.”
    “And you’re very sweet, Matt, but no one else will. But ‘keep in touch’ actually means I have to find a way to send an untraceable ransom note.”
    “Have you got a way to do that or will you need my help?”
    “You know how to send untraceable messages?”
    “Your father kind of forced me to learn.”
    Michelle bit her lip, the sign that she was puzzling through something. “I guess I can see why Daddy might want you to know how to do that…”
    She looked annoyed when I laughed. “I’m sorry to laugh, Michelle. But Jonas didn’t teach me how to do that. I had to figure it out for myself—along with all the other things I had to learn so I could get away from him and the other bodyguards every now and then. You have no idea how much fun it was to send untraceable messages to Jonas telling him I wasn’t in my room.”
    “And I’m sure Daddy just loved getting those messages from you. You know, he never came out and said it, but I know your ingenuity impressed him. I bet you never thought you’d get to use that ingenuity to send your own ransom note.”
    Michelle spent the rest of the wormhole jump composing a ransom note.
    I spent the jump changing the ship’s registration beacon. Switching out the beacon isn’t difficult, but reprogramming one is a real bear of a job. I paid a smuggler to teach me how to do it, just in case I had to sneak off to rescue my parents. Exactly what I was doing now, in other words.
    “What do you think we ought to call the ship?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. What was its old name?”
    “Dad and I never got around to naming it. It was always just the spaceship. We wouldn’t be on this trip if it wasn’t for you, so I think we should name if after you.”
    “The Michelle ? Even if no one knows I’m gone, that’s not obscure enough for my tastes.”
    “Then how about the Blonde Bombshell ?”
    The look Michelle gave me spoke volumes.
    “I guess that means the Blonde Beauty is out, too?”
    “Yes, as is