Dante had already given up hope of bargaining since his sis already knew about his incident. So he just sat in the back of the patrol car, surprisingly relaxed.
The handcuffs still dug into his wrists though. And the sirens still blared loud, with blue and red lights flashing through the car's windows.
As the car sped down empty streets. The New York City skyline flickered past the window. It looked beautiful, probably. But Dante would never know....his head was still swimming in booze.
'This night went to sh*t fast.' Dante held his head, feeling the immense buzz he's in.
He leaned back against the seat with a sigh. As for the cop in front, he merely glanced at him through the mirror.
The cop seemed even more disappointed than Robert, with his brow furrowed tight. There were no words were exchanged between them. Cause fortunately, Dante was too sh*tfaced to hold a conversation anyway.
As minutes passed, so did Dante... he was already starting to drift in and out of his consciousness.
Until—
SCREEEHHH
The car swung into the station lot hard, like the cop wanted to wake him up. The tires of the car itself crunched on gravel like it drifted into the parking lot.
As the engine got cut off, so did the sirens.
Then silence descended on Dante as he jerked awake by the sudden stop.
He blinked multiple times, trying to get his vision straight. As a flashlight was pointed at his face through the car window.
The cop yanked the door open and grabbed Dante by the arm, pulling him out in one rough motion.
Dante's legs were still wobbly from the booze and gave out the second his feet hit the pavement. "Easy there, big guy. I bruise easy."
But the cop ignored him.
The cop dragged Dante through the front doors. There were a few officers were scattered around the station, hunched over desks doing paperwork.
But nobody even looked up as the officer shoved Dante past them, while he struggled to keep his balance in his captor's grip.
And the cop himself didn't stop either, until they reached the holding cells in the back, where he shoved Dante inside without a word.
Clang!
The metal bars slammed shut behind him with a loud clang that echoed through the station.
Dante stood there for a moment, body swaying from the booze still swimming in his veins.
Then his legs finally gave up.
He dropped onto the bench and leaned his head against the cold bars, letting the metal cool his skin. 'Great. Just great.'
The station was quiet... well, it was quiet until the clock somewhere started ticking. And the fluorescent lights? Oh, the fluorescent lights...
They buzzed right above his cell, a constant reminder of how far he'd fallen from the club lights and loud music just an hour ago.
And Dante couldn't take it.
For a man still buzzed out of his mind, this was torture. Pure torture. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be out there. In a bed. With a woman. Getting his 'willy' in a F*CKING BUN.
But instead? He was stuck in a cold cell with nothing but the buzzing and the ticking for company.
'I wanna get out. I wanna get out right f*cking now.'
But what could he do?
So instead of staying frustrated, he just closed his eyes... hoping the buzz in his head would settle down.
Even with his eyes shut, he checked his pockets for his belongings only to find out his phone had been taken. And his wallet—
'Dammit, they took my wallet too.'
Not that there was much in it anyway. Maybe a hundred bucks if he was lucky.
He leaned his head back against the bars. The cold metal pressed against his skull. He didn't bother opening his eyes.
What was the point? There was nothing to look at. Just empty cells and tired cops who seem to not give two-f*cks about him.
The station stayed quiet... well, except for the clock ticking somewhere and those damn lights still buzzing overhead.
He had no idea how long he sat there. Minutes. Maybe an hour. Time felt weird when you were drunk and locked in a cell.
Click. Click. Click.
But while he was dealing with the frustration of the constant annoying sound, another sound registered in his head...this were different , they were heels. And it was coming down the hallway.
His eyes snapped open at the different sound he haven't heard for a good minute, and for someone with experience like him, well...it could be a bad thing or a good thing.
And it wasn't a good thing...
Because above those clicks was Gina Ricci...Dante's younger sister.
She was the one who always cleaned up his messes, yet she remained disappointed in her brother's life choices.
She acted as the emotional backbone of the Ricci family; she protected her siblings and her children,she even went as far as putting the family first, and loved Dante deeply.
She had even begged Dante to visit their dying mother, but he had ignored her pleas and gone to get wasted instead...
It wasn't the first time she and her husband had bailed him out of jail, but now, she couldn't help feeling reluctant at the thought.
'Maybe it will do him good if he stays here,' she thought to herself on the way to his cell. Because unlike her elder brother, she represented responsibility and maturity among the Ricci siblings.
She was everything Dante had failed to become...
She moved fast. With her black heels clicking against the tile floor. Each step echoed through the quiet station.
Standing at 5'10", she was bound to have heads turning the moment she entered... her presence seemed to demand the attention of anyone in her vicinity.
Because to anyone outside her family, they knew her as a different person.
They called her... The Lady in Black.
Her brown eyes were focused ahead... her brow furrowed in concentration...or maybe it was contemplation.
Her build was busty and curvy. She had thick hips and thighs. She was naturally athletic... but even with her good, natural feminine body, she still had an active routine.
She made schedules for her fitness: runs and gym sessions.
And for that, every cop in the room glanced her way. There was one officer at the desk who stopped typing... while another leaned back in his chair to watch the show about to unfold.
It was the same guy who brought Dante in.
But while all this was happening, the person who had the attention of the whole room did not notice what was happening around her... or maybe she just did not care.
One thing was for sure... her face stayed cold. Her eyes were still fixed forward.
And then there was Jake... Dante and Gina's little brother who also looked to be a stunner. But unlike his brother... he tried to stay as independent as possible.
He was with his older sis when Robert's call came in; he had gone to visit his nephews Mia and Ethan.
At first Gina wanted to go alone, but he begged her to allow him to come, and reluctantly she let him.
And here he was... about to bail his older bro out of jail.
He used to look up to Dante while growing up. But now, he looked up to him less and less as he got older.
He still cared about his older brother... it was just hard not to stay disappointed in someone like Dante.
But strangely... he didn't feel bitter toward his older bro.
Jake followed behind Gina with his hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets.
He also had the same black hair as his older siblings, but instead he had blonde-dyed patches on it.
It looked messy, with strands sticking out. He stood between five feet eleven inches and six feet.
His brown eyes scanned the room. His build was lean and fit from his active job. But unlike his older brother... he wasn't arrogant about it.
All this was happening around 2 AM in the morning, with the clock on the wall ticking loud in the silence.
Robert spotted them from across the room. He stood by a coffee machine with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.
He sighed deep, rubbing his temples with two fingers. "Gina. Jake."
His voice came out tired. He even had bags under his blue eyes, which showed he had a long shift.
"Where is he?" Gina's voice was flat.
Which surprised Robert for a second. He was expecting his wife to be pissed and cranky when she got to the station.
But nonetheless he jerked his thumb toward the holding cells. Which was the hallway that led to them. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.
Gina did not wait for more words. She marched past him. Heels echoing down the hallway.
Click. Click. Click.
Jake gave Robert an apologetic look. His shoulders shrugged a bit. Then he followed her.
Robert just shook his head. 'This family is going to kill me.'
He took an absent-minded sip of coffee. And the liquid scorched his tongue, making him wince, yet he kept his eyes on them as they walked away.