Colby: September Read Free

“Do you know what that shit will do to you when heated?”
    “Make it less potent,” she said, tilting her chin up stubbornly. At least, that’s what she believed. Fire burned some of the alcohol off. She cooked with it all of the time. And she didn’t have reason to think otherwise.
    “Oh Goddess,” he groaned louder than before. “How long have you been doing that?”
    Ella narrowed her eyes as he went slightly out of focus. Damn, the alcohol was hitting her hard. “Tonight or since the first time I ever had it?”
    “Tonight,” he said, his voice void of emotion.
    Ella shrugged again and looked around at the group of women she was with. The way Colby appeared beyond anxious about it had a tight ball of nerves tumbling in her tummy. Her friends did seem to be a bit more out of it than usual. A couple of them plopped down into chairs, glassy-eyed looks on their faces. “Since we got here a couple hours ago. The bartender didn’t say anything to us when he gave us the second bottle.” She gestured toward the table and the bottles of White Lightning, one empty and the other close to it. Really, there was only a swallow left. It would be a shame to waste it. She should probably finish it off, her little inner voice encouraged. Yeah, definitely. Without thought, she moved to grab it, but was stopped by a strong hand on her upper arm.
    “Oh, no you don’t. Setting White Lightning on fire makes it more potent. Not less. But even still, you and your friends shouldn’t be this bad off,” Colby sighed and dug something out of his back pocket. He held what turned out to be a little black radio to his mouth. “I need a couple of attendants over in section five. We’ve got a bunch of drunk witches that need tending to.”
    Ella’s mouth dropped open in indignation. It wasn’t like they were causing trouble. “You don’t need to do that. We’ve been behaving.”
    “Not for long.” He gestured over to where Lizzy had wandered off. It was apparent she wasn’t too upset Colby wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. She’d latched onto a tall, dark demon, and even he looked panicked as she ran her hands over his bare chest. Ella watched bits of magic leak from Lizzy’s fingers and flit along the demon’s skin. He winced and tried to back up. Lizzy wasn’t having it. She gripped his forearms tightly with a look of determination lighting her eyes.
    Ella snorted then slapped a hand over her mouth. She only made that dumb sound when she was drunk. But she couldn’t be drunk. “I feel fine,” she whispered.
    “Yeah,” Colby said; but, to her ears, he didn’t sound convinced. They stood there without saying anything for a couple of minutes. His big hand wrapped around the fleshy part of her upper arm. Normally, she’d be trying to pull away from him—or anyone that thought to touch her there. For being a massage therapist, one would think she would have better tone to her arms, but she didn’t, and it annoyed her. Her body wasn’t built that way.
    Three men approached Colby, and all he did was motion toward her group of friends. There was low chuckling coming from them, but Colby didn’t let her stay long enough to find out what would happen next. He tugged on her arm and led her away.
    “Where are you taking me?” She let out an unflattering squeak. They made a beeline toward the bars. Patrons getting out of their way without being told. It was rather impressive.
    “Somewhere quiet.” They stopped in front of a wall. He passed his hand over a pretty design etched into the wallpaper. It seemed a silly thing to do. Until a hidden door slid open and they stepped into an office. It wasn’t like any office she’d ever seen, though.
    There was a desk, chair, and everything that a normal office should have off to one side. On the other, there was a roomy-looking bed, an open-shelving unit with some clothes and personal items stacked on top, and a small nightstand with a lamp. It really reminded her of a