Page 23 of Secrets and Lies

“Because it’s not. Teddy B is an English aristocrat by birth. His name is Theodore Bettincourt IV, the Twelfth Earl of Wintersmith, which, in and of itself, doesn’t mean much. There are still quite of few of those running around England. But, in this case, the title does mean a bit more. Teddy was close to certain members of the royal family. He went to school with the crown princes, among others, I believe. Anyway, Teddy was smart enough to nurture that relationship, biding his time until it bore fruit. He managed to make some deals with help, of course, but those deals led to him becoming quite wealthy. At the same time, he also became known as the man to see if you need to make a deal. He made even more money by facilitating meetings that led to deals. Of course, he claimed a percentage of every deal.”

Mitch frowned. “He’s some rich British aristocrat, so what? What’s the real story?”

Drake got up and went over to the bar in the corner and poured himself a glass of scotch. He held up the bottle, but again, the men shook their heads. Logan, Mitch, and Gage exchanged furtive glances. Drake sighed. He didn’t blame them. He wasn’t exactly behaving in his normal manner.

“Teddy B screwed me in a deal once. So badly, I almost lost everything, and he did it because he could. There was no gain forhim. He got his percentage no matter what, but he screwed me because he thought I was lesser. Not worthy to be of the same class, if you will.”

“Does he have a death wish?” Gage asked. “Clearly, he had to know that doing that to you would eventually lead him to a bad end.”

Drake smiled. “I don’t know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment.”

“A compliment,” Logan supplied. “No one who takes you on and burns you gets away with it in any great way, as far as I can tell.”

“Now,” Drake agreed. “But then, I didn’t have the money or the reach.” He sipped his scotch. “I was trying to buy a certain hotel slash club in London, one that the royal set frequented. Teddy B was the man to talk to. He set up a meeting between me and the then owner at the time. The deal progressed nicely, and Teddy wined and dined me around London, leading me to believe he would be happy to help me make all kinds of deals. He helped me procure financing because the owner wanted just a bit more than I could gather. That by itself should have been a huge red flag, but I was young and not so wise.

“The deal closed, and I got the place. Then, within a few months of me buying the place, it suddenly became unpopular. My hotel lost bookings. The business was losing money. The man behind the financing that Teddy B had helped me secure called in his loan even though he’d agreed to a much longer term.” Drake took another sip, his fingers tight on the crystal tumbler. “I’d missed some fine print, mostly because I trusted my lawyers, again, a firm supplied by Teddy B.”

Drake remembered the rage he’d felt the day he’d figured out what Teddy B had done. The day he realized how he’d been suckered.

“Teddy B had set me up. He’d put the word out with his crowd that the hotel slash club was no longer acceptable due to the change in ownership. When business dropped off, his friend came to collect. Their plan was that I would go under, and the friend could pick up the place cheap, saving himself millions. All while making Teddy a pretty penny for putting the whole thing together.”

“What happened?” Mitch asked.

Drake allowed himself a small smile. “I found someone to bail me out. Someone who had not only money, but clout.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed. “Why do I feel like you made a deal with the devil?”

Drake shrugged. “Not the devil. Just someone the royal family did not like. Someone they hated as a matter of fact, but someone who had a lot of friends.”

Realization dawned on Logan’s face. “And those friends were Middle Eastern.”

Drake nodded. “They were indeed. My hotel became the place to be for a certain crowd. I sold it to my investor two years later at a healthy profit, but I never forgot the lesson Teddy B taught me. The whole mess was my fault. I had trusted someone I shouldn’t have.”

Gage commented, “I’m willing to bet you’ve never made that mistake again.”

“No,” Drake agreed. “But all that aside, what I wanted to tell you is that Teddy B is not to be trusted and whatever the hell his role is in this, it’s probably not what you think. If he’s involved, then it’s much bigger than just a statue stolen from the Met.”

“Shit,” Mitch breathed. “I’ve been afraid of that.” He glanced at his brothers. “I think we all have been worried about it.”

“I’m going to talk to Spencer and see if she can get you any more information on Teddy B.”

“Why Spencer? How is she, by the way?” Logan asked.

“She is well, thank you for asking. She will be at the wedding on Saturday, obviously. We are both looking forward to it. But to answer your question, there was a rumor a while back that Teddy B had gotten into some trouble working with the wrong people, and MI6 had to bail him out. She’s still got contacts in that world even though she’s no longer with Homeland Security. I think the more information we have on Teddy B, the better.”

“Certainly sounds that way,” Logan agreed. His cell went off. He stood and walked over to the other side of the office to take the call.

“Thanks again for the information,” Gage added. “This whole thing is a bit of a puzzle and a lot of a nightmare.”

Mitch shook his head. “I still can’t figure out if Gage is just the unlucky fall guy because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if this was a setup from the beginning.”

Drake set his glass down on the table. It had been hard to tell the story because he hated to admit failure and his own stupidity, but now that it was out there, he felt relief. These men had become friends, and none of them thought any less of him. That meant a great deal.

“If Teddy B is involved, I’m guessing it was a setup. Anything I find out, I will, of course, pass on. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. My resources are at your disposal.”

“Thanks, Drake, that means a lot to me.” A small smile flitted across Gage’s face. “You’re already doing us a huge favor by letting us use your place in the Hamptons for the wedding. I know Logan and Lacy have been back and forth a lot, making sure everything is perfect.”

“It’s my pleasure. As I said, Spencer and I are looking forward to it.”

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