Pushing the Limits by Jennifer Snow

YouTube video of Dane breaking up the fight in the casino nightclub that had gone viral. Eighty-four thousand views and half of them had probably been her.
    â€œYou’re early,” Kate said through a yawn as she tossed her Gucci purse onto the chair across from her.
    Colby closed the laptop and slid it back into the case. “Yeah . . . I had some work to do.”
    â€œWhen is your boss going to realize what an asset you are and promote you?” Kate asked.
    Hopefully as soon as she could secure this story.
    Kate took a sip of her extra-hot, double-shot-of-espresso black chai latte and sighed. “No amount of caffeine is going to cut it today.”
    Uh-oh. She knew what that meant. “Rough night?”
    Kate collapsed back against the chair. “Three confirmed dead on arrival. One gunshot to the head. One heart attack, and one head-on collision.” She took a gulp of her latte.
    â€œThree souls gone to a better place,” Colby said, her Catholic upbringing shockingly never too far away, even living in Sin City her entire life.
    â€œYou know I don’t believe in that,” Kate said, taking another gulp.
    She nodded. Kate was a confirmed atheist. She claimed not to be able to believe in a god after the things she saw on a daily basis.
    â€œWhat were you working on?” she asked, glancing at the notebook still open on the table.
    So far she had filled over thirty pages with notes, but they all seemed to lead to dead ends.
    â€œJust a new story . . .” She hesitated. Maybe there might be another way to get the information she needed. “Hey, do you remember that Hardy vs. Consuelos MMA fight last year? The one where the guy died after a head-kick?”
    Kate nodded. “Actually, it’s funny that you mention it. Kim at work was talking about that same thing last night. Apparently the guy is still getting into trouble. Some YouTube video of him went viral or something.”
    â€œHe wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was breaking up a fight,” Colby said quickly.
    Kate eyed her. “Defensive much?”
    Colby forced a laugh. “Just a stickler for the facts, you know me,” she said with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m kinda working on that story and I was wondering if you knew who was working at the hospital that night. If there was anyone I could talk to?” It would be better to find out exactly what Marco Consuelos had died from directly from the doctors and nurses who’d attended to him that night, rather than approach his family.
    Kate looked uncomfortable as she shifted in the seat and took another gulp of her drink. “You can talk to me. I was there that night.”
    Colby’s mouth dropped. A major story source had been right under her nose the whole time? She was so stupid. Kate should have been the first person she asked. “Oh . . . okay, great. Well, do you mind if I ask you some questions?” She reached for her notebook.
    Kate yawned, then, draining the contents of the cup, she stood. “Interview me when I’m not dead on my feet, okay?” She tossed the empty cup into the trash and bent to hug Colby quickly. “I have to get a shower and some sleep. Double shift tomorrow.”
    Colby hid her disappointment. “Sure. Of course. Go get some sleep. We’ll talk later,” she said.
    Kate grabbed her purse and left the café, leaving Colby with the odd feeling the topic wasn’t one she really wanted to discuss. She sighed. What was the deal with this fight that no one wanted to talk about it?
    Opening her laptop, she did a new search for Dane Hardy in Google. There had to be something, somewhere . . . Punisher Athletics’ website appeared fourth down from the top after the news articles. Clicking on the link, she saw Dane’s name and fighter profile pic in the list of fighters.
    His former trainer, MFL light heavyweight champ Tyson Reed, owned the