The Reluctant Knight Read Online Free PDF Page B

to wet herself.
    Before any other
thought, she found herself wondering if Myron would be able to hear
it through the bug if she did decide to pee. A second later she
snorted with laughter, something he definitely would have
heard.
    She was stuck in a
car boot on her way to Russia, where strange men would probably try
and torture her, or at least interrogate her over something she
knew nothing about, and her biggest concern right at that moment
was what Myron might think if she wet herself. If she wasn't
already crazy, she was definitely well on the way.
    Not long after
this thought, she felt the car decelerate and the engine quietened.
A few seconds after that they turned several corners and then
pulled to a halt. The men said something to each other, but again
it was in Russian and meant nothing to her, other than that the
engine was quiet enough to hear them.
    Someone opened a
car door and then slammed it shut shortly after. Then there was a
second door opened and shut. Whether the men intended to let her
out or not, it was pretty evident they were taking a break to use
some kind of services. For now, she was glad she hadn't wet
herself.
    If there was a
chance they'd let her out to use a service station toilet, or even
a bush somewhere in the middle of nowhere, it would be a thousand
times better than adding the smell of urine and damp underclothes
to the unpleasantness of being stuck in such a small space.
    Just in case she
was about to be let out, Amelia moved her hands away from the bug
on her shoulder and flipped her coat over it, but several minutes
later she was still in the cramped space with nothing but the sound
of her own muffled breathing for company.
    When the doors
opened and shut another couple of times Amelia gave up hope of
getting a moment in the fresh air. It sounded like the men were
simply taking a break themselves and had no intention of allowing
her to go as well.
    She clenched her
jaw to fight back the tears the disappointment brought, and tried
not to think about the embarrassment of having to wet herself. If
it was necessary, she would just have to do it and cope with it.
Survival demanded that she should push through whatever challenges
she was faced with.
    Just as she was
about to let go and pee, she heard the dull thunk of the lid catch
being released. She gasped and held on a little longer.
    Less than a second
later someone yanked the lid up, allowing the freezing air to come
flooding in. She gasped, and before they even grabbed her she was
shivering.
    Two sets of hands
manhandled her out of the boot and into some kind of upright
position. She stumbled with her heels, and her legs flooded with
the early warning signs of pins and needles. She clenched down on
her teeth to keep from crying out and leant against whoever was
nearest.
    Mercifully,
whoever it was seemed willing to support her until she could get
her legs underneath her properly. She then felt two different men
grab her high up on each arm and walk her swiftly away.
    It was all she
could do to keep walking and not twist an ankle on what felt like
fairly uneven concrete. Several times her shoulders were almost
yanked out of their sockets as she tripped but wasn't let go.
    Eventually the
ground underneath her became the tiled indoors of a toilet or
shower block. It was barely warmer than the winter outside but she
was grateful for the slight difference on her bare legs.
    Not long after
being marched inside she was stopped and held still while one of
them reached up for the bag on her head. She heard him swearing in
Russian as he tried to un-knot the mess she'd created. A few
seconds later the other man said something and let go of her with
one hand. They talked among themselves for a moment until she heard
the flick of a blade being drawn.
    A few seconds
later he'd cut the knot and the bag was yanked from her head. She
blinked rapidly, blinded and pained by the glowing artificial light
of the building interior, as the hair that had stuck