Thanks for the reviews, I heard your criticisms about Casey not being herself either but I promise this chapter has her back to her old self and that soon enough you'll see why she was so off. In this chapter, Casey tries to gain control of the situation but doesn't, and Derek gives answers that bring in more questions. Plus a little Dasey teasing.

Casey was silent for a few moments. She had just learned that she was riding Carmine, Derek's mysterious Wednesday date. It's not as dirty as it sounds, turns out Carmine is a black corvette with the plates Car Mine. She thought back to see if there had been any clues.

Well, there had been one of their fights, when Casey asked why his new girlfriend was so different from all his past ones. "I can be myself around Carmine, she lets me be me. She doesn't say anything when I need to vent and she's there if I need her. All I have to do is keep her warmed up and make sure she has everything she needs."

Then there was the description that Derek had given her, "Dark skinned, bright eyes, and purrs like a dream when I get her started. Keep asking questions Case and I might think you're jealous."

That's what Casey needed to get back to the present. "Derek, stop the car."

Glancing over at her, he flipped down the sun visor and pointed to a GPS strapped to it. "Can you hold it for a few more minutes; we're almost at the gas station."

"I don't have pee, just stop the car."

"We don't have time for you to freak out."

"I don't freak out. I want answers and we're not going any further until I get them." Checking her seatbelt, Casey started getting herself ready to do something very stupid as she eased to the edge of her seat.

Derek gave her a questioning glance, "I'm the one driving, how are you going to stop the car?"

Casey gave him a smug look and said, "Like this;" 'this' being her slamming her foot on the break. As expected the corvette screeched to a halt; leaving tire marks on the highway and causing the other drivers to honk and shout in anger. It also caused a surprised Derek to slam his face on the steering wheel.

Before he could react, Casey pulled the keys from the ignition and started to roll down the window. "Now start talking or we'll be here all night waiting for a tow."

Flipping on the cabin light, Derek glanced at the rearview mirror to check out the bruise forming on his forehead, "Damn it, Casey. You don't know what's at stake here. Now give back the keys and we'll talk about this while we drive."

"No, Derek. I deserve some answers now. I've had my dream guy try to kill me, been saved by my nightmare of a stepbrother, and met his mysterious girlfriend, a freaking car," gesturing around the cabin to prove her point. "Now give me some straight answers before the keys go out the window."

Derek smirked at her and asked, "Do you mean the unopened window Spacey?"

Casey turned and was surprised to see that the window hadn't moved an inch from when she had started. Before she could say anything, Derek spoke up from behind her, "Power windows, the nobs are just for show. Now give me the keys before I have to take them from you."

"Touch me and I'll scream."

"Go ahead," Derek said tapping on the window beside him. "Carmine is soundproof."

Then giving her that look again, he added, "Please Case."

While she was surprised that Derek was asking for something, Casey wasn't going to give up any ground. "Why would you need your car to be soundproof? And we're parked in the middle of the highway Derek, someone's sure to have called the police."

"That could be a bad thing and we don't need that right now."

"Why would calling the police be a bad thing," Casey let every inch of her anger creep into her voice as she finished her sentence, "and stop dancing around my questions, and give me a straight answer, darn it."

Derek was about to say something when the radio came alive, "Car 51, we've gotten reports of a parked car in the middle of the highway, check it out and report back."

Derek slammed his hand against the steering wheel, "Damn it. Fine Casey, have it your way." Moving quickly, he pulled something from beside his seat and lunged at Casey. She only caught a glance of the items reflective surface, before Derek grabbed her arm and wondered for a second if he had pulled a knife on her.

Casey threw a punch, then a kick, she wasn't going down without a fight; she could already feel the cold metal digging into her skin. Derek let her hit him while he grabbed and twisted her arms behind her seat. Click.

Click? It took Casey a moment to realize that Derek had handcuffed her. Try as she might, she found she couldn't move her arms, they were pinned behind her. She could only watch as Derek checked to make sure her seatbelt was on, took the keys from her and started the car back up.

He didn't say anything until they pulled up to the gas station, a few minutes later. Not that Casey would have heard him over her own shouts and threats about how much jail time he was going to get for kidnapping and assault. Finally putting his hand over mouth and spoke, "I didn't want to do that Case. If you promise to follow the rules, I'll take the cuffs off."

Casey tried to respond but, Derek kept his hand pressed against her mouth, "The rules are simple, follow them and you'll seat in the front seat. Break them, and I'll tie you up and put you in the backseat."

Raising his other hand, Derek started to list off his rules, "Number one: Do what I say when I say it. Number two: Until this weekend is over, you can't talk to anyone we know." Yet again, that look of his past through his eyes and sent a shiver down Casey's spine, "And number three: Never leave my side. I understand you're scared but I'm doing this to keep you safe and I will follow the rules too." Restarting the count on his hand he continued, "Number one: When you ask a question I'll answer it, maybe with vague answers, but I will answer it. Number two: I'll listen to your suggestions and if they're safe, I will try them. And finally, number three: when this weekend is over and all my secrets are exposed, whatever you decide goes. I'll turn myself in or just move out of the apartment. Whatever you want, I'll do."

Lowering his hand, Derek didn't wait for an answer as he turned off the car, uncuffed Casey, and handed her the keys. Flipping on the cabin light again, he took a small container of what looked like makeup to Casey, and started to apply it to the both the bruise on his forehead and the bruises that had started to form from Casey punching him. "Good, this is good. With a little practice you might stand a chance against E-Ludlum and his crazy boss."

Forcing Derek to face her, Casey said, "Before I agree to anything, I need to know what is going on."

Derek pulled her hand away from him, and placing the container in it, said, "Put this on your wrist, it'll conceal and heal your bruises. As to your question, to you mean in the world, the private war you've been dragged into, or with us? Because I'll need a paper for the first, I don't want to answer the second, and only you can answer the last one" As he spoke the last words, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

"DER-EK," Casey shouted after him. His bouncing between dead serious and annoyingly teasing was continuing to grind on her nerves; but he had just said that he would be vague with his answers and, looking at both the keys and the ointment in her hands, he seemed to trust her and genuinely want her safe, he had, after all, run over someone trying to kill her. Finally, watching as Derek walked around the car to her side and almost as important as promising answers, was him commenting on the two ton elephant between them, something that not only had she thought neither of them would ever admit to, but until tonight she thought it was the biggest problem in their lives.

Opening the door, Derek looked her dead in the eye and said, "Do we have a deal or are you riding in the back?"

With the door open, Casey could've easily called for help and/or made a ran for it, but putting the keys into her pocket, applying the ointment to her skin, and tossing the container to Derek, she decided that trust was a two way street, "Deal, now tell me about this 'private war'."

Catching it and without missing a beat, Derek gestured to the building and said, "Fine let's walk and talk because I need to take a piss as much as you need answers." Not waiting for answers, he started sprinting towards the gas station; of course Casey had noticed the green taint that had crossed his face as she had answered, so he probably needed to empty more than his bladder just then.

As she was about to enter the building, Derek shot back out, heading around the back, and gesturing for Casey to follow. She had suppress a laugh, all night Derek had mostly been calm and in control, but either admitting to the tension between them or just the thought of telling her about his 'private war' had been enough to make him puke. She waited until she didn't hear anything for a minute before knocking on the door. "Are you all right, or do I need to call in backup for you?"

Opening the door, Derek, with Casey noticed a folded paper towel in his hand, glared at her, "Cute, Case. Real cute." Then opening the door further, he gestured for her go in as he came out, "Your turn, the handle sticks but it does flush."

Seeing the inside of the restroom, Casey noted that it looked like the worst of what movie gas stations had taught her to fear. Stepping back she shot Derek a disgusted look, "Thanks, but I think I'll use the lady's room."

"That is the lady's room," Derek countered, pointing to the door where it was marked unisex.

Walking quickly away from the repulsive grime room and towards the front of the store, Casey "I'm good."

Spotting the way she walked, Derek, "Right princess, I can tell."

Opening the storefront Casey shot him a dirty look, "I'm fine, now you were saying about your 'secret war'."

Taking the door from her, Derek gestured for her to go inside, "Fine." Tossing the bathroom key to the cashier he gave a quick look around, lowered his voice, and began to give a narrative Casey could tell he couldn't wait to get over with, "About twenty years ago, a mafia don started coming to London to hide some of his ill-gotten gains. While there during one of his visits he met a woman and had a child. What are you getting?"

"You just told me a criminal hid his money in the UK and fathered a kid, what's not to get?" Casey whispered back to him.

"I meant to drink, Spacey. What are you getting to drink?" pointing to the coolers in front of them as he opened one and took out a soda."

"Tea, now get back to your story or better yet a point."

Grabbing her tea, Derek pointed her towards the fountain drinks and continued, "First off, it wasn't England's London, it was our London. Second, there is a point to this. Ten years later, I met this kid at summer camp and became friends with them. They were a little off, but we had a lot in common so I ignored it."

Derek grew quite, and Casey could tell he was reliving a bad memory. She didn't want to push him, but she needed to know what was going on. "Until?"

Coming out of his memory, Derek gave her a confused, "Until?"

Casey gave him an annoyed looked, "You wouldn't being telling me any this unless this friend of yours is the person behind Ludlum attacking me. So things must have sorrowed between you and him."

Derek flashed her a proud smirk and continued, "You're right. My ex-friend is the one behind everything."

Pulling out the biggest cup, he spun it into the air before catching it behind his back and starting filling it with water, as he continued his story, "Anyway, because of a promise I didn't realize I made, someone got hurt and I finally saw how disturbed my friend really was. They threatened to come after my family if I told anyone."

Derek emptied the cup and began filling it again. Casey gave him a questioning look, but let him continue, "So I kept my mouth shut and let everyone think it was an accident. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't shake the guilt of what I had done. Finally I decided to appear cold and selfish, because I felt that I didn't deserve to be liked or even loved. But then the first of my two girls come into my life."

Again Derek emptied the cup and began to fill it for a third time. Casey was about to ask him what he was doing when it hit her. "DER-EK," she shouted as she punched him and ran to get the bathroom key back from the cashier.

After she was done doing her business, Casey stared at the dirty mirror and just thought about Derek and what he had just told her. She had a hard time matching the serious man that she had shared a car ride with, with the bane of her high school existence. Can I really believe that Derek is having a feud with a crime boss' son and no one knows about it? But what's the alternative? If he is lying, then what is going on? It can't be another one of his pranks, can it? No, no Marian or Ludlum or whatever his name really is had pointed a gun at me. That thought sent a small shiver done her spine. Marian had pointed a gun at her, but not only had he not shot her, Derek had stopped him just in time, and was adamant that the police didn't get involved. But if it was a prank, what was the point? Could the whole thing be a trick to get her in bed?

The pounding on the door snapped her out of that train of thought. "Hurry up Case, we need to get back on the road."

"Just a minute, jerk." Then looking into the mirror, she said to herself, "Calm down Casey, you don't have all the answers. Right now you only have what you think you know and what little information Derek has given you."

Just then an idea struck her, and the keys he gave me. They might have a clue to what's really going on. Digging into her pocket, she pulled them out and started looking them over. There were only four there and Casey immediately saw the first two was the keys to the apartment. That might be a clue. When they first moved in, Derek insisted that they change the locks because who know who else had a copy. Maybe he was protecting her from something and not just being cautious. Hell, Derek is rarely cautious.

The other two keys looked like they were to the car. That was defiantly a clue. Why would Derek have a secret car if it wasn't for something important? Cars are expensive, especially with the work he must have had done it. Casey's eyes widened with another thought crossed her mind, where is the money coming from? Derek worked at a dinner close to the apartment a few nights a week, but not enough to cover paying for a car and it going unnoticed. So he must have another means of getting money. But what was it?

Again Derek pounded on the door, "Come out now or I'm coming in."

Casey started to shout back "I'm coming…," when the keychain caught her eye. It had a picture inside of Casey and Marti playing outside with the words 'My Girls' written on the bottom. Derek had been talking about his girls when his prank had made her run in here. He had said he was ten when his first girl had come into his life, that fits the age difference between him and Marti; and when he had said there were only two of them, Casey had hoped that she was one of them, but she hadn't thought it was likely.

The door suddenly came open with Derek slamming in on it. He just stared at her for second, finally saying, "Done yet? Because we're leaving," grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the restroom.

Casey yelled, "DER-EK!" and pulled herself free. "I will not be manhandled."

Derek picked up a bag and two Styrofoam cups, flashing Casey a smirk as he gave her one, he said, "Pity, I'll have to remember that for later." Then becoming serious again, he continued, "We've been around here too long and we have a lot of road to cover before either one of us can sleep."

Taking the cup from him, Casey looked at it then at him. Did he just flirt with her again? "What's this and why can't I sleep in the car?"

Opening the door for her, Derek flipped the child's lock off and gestured for her to get inside. "Your tea, I don't want you spilling your drink all over Carmine. And I thought we would spend the time answering your questions." Moving to his side he threw the bag into the backseat and started pumping the gas.

Casey liked the sign of trust that unlocking the door had been, but she still wanted answers and was getting tired of being told to wait, moving around the car she tossed Derek the keys and started to ask them, "Do you really expect me to believe that you're some kind of government agent taking on the mob? That you just happened to be there when Marian or Ludlum or whatever his name was pulled a gun on me? What's really going on?"

Derek caught the keys, and gave her a frustrated glare, "I'm telling you the truth, McDonald. And I didn't just happen to be there. When I took the car, I had to quickly double back and sneak into the apartment while you waited for the cab. Then I had to race across town to get Carmine and get to the museum before anything happened. My heart was in my throat the whole time. After finding Ludlum's car, I decided to wait in the alley because I knew his boss would want it to be done somewhere dark and grimy just to twist the knife more. When you came out I was getting ready to drive Carmine through the front door."

"Fine, Derek I'll play along. Let's say for a second you're telling the truth. Why would this crime boss' son want me dead and not you?"

Slamming the gas lid closed, Derek put the pump away and shot back, "Because shitcrazy as they are, they want me by their side and to get rid of the competition."

Casey leaned against the car door to block Derek from getting in and crossed her arms letting him know she wasn't going to move until she got solid answers, "What competition? I don't want run a criminal empire."

Derek gave her a frustrated glare, "Don't act dumb McDonald; it's one of the few things that doesn't look good on you. They don't see you as a business completion, they see you as…"

"HEY! Is that your car?"

The pair turned to see a trio of bikers pulling up. And they didn't look happy.