“Have a seat,” Luke said. “You can have your choice of the doorway end or the window end of the cot.”

Gray sat, and as his eyes adjusted, he had a better view of the room. There were a couple of books on the table and a stubby candle. A chamber pot in the corner didn’t do the air any favors.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said simply.

Luke gave a helpless smile. “I’ve been charged with collaborating with the insurgency.”

“Did you?” Gray held his breath, holding on to the slim hope that this was all a misunderstanding that could be solved now that he was here.

“Yes.”

Gray closed his eyes as his worst fears came true. It took an effort not to lash out and yell at his brother for pure, unadulterated stupidity, but Luke was already suffering enough. He had to play this smart.

“Who can I go to on the insurgency side to intercede for you?”

That took Luke by surprise, and he looked stunned at the offer. “There isn’t anyone.”

“You risked your life for those people, and it’s time for them to pay you back,” Gray said. “They’ve got political capital, and so do I. We are going to use it to get you out.”

Luke shook his head. “That’s . . . that’s exceedingly decent of you, but it’s hopeless. I’m guilty. Most of the people I worked with have been arrested too.”

“Everyone?”

“Pretty much. The authorities found my code book and arrested everyone in it. I am now officially a sitting duck.” Luke tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. He provided what scant details he knew about how his cover was blown. Apparently the authorities had raided the raccoon shed, where he kept most of his correspondence.

“You were running this operation out of that ratty old shed?”

Luke shrugged. “I fixed it up pretty nice, and you never came within yards of it.”

“All those times you claimed to be coming to Cuba to trade in cigars and rum . . .”

“It was just a cover.”

Gray didn’t care what fool act Luke had done, he wanted his brother out of this prison. “Maybe I can get you into an American prison. The conditions here are unacceptable.”

“It’s not so bad,” Luke said, even as a bead of sweat trickled down his face. “It gets cooler at night.”

It was that bad. It was revolting and awful, and it looked like Luke had already lost weight, but the worst thing was the despair in his brother’s face. The sense of helplessness was strangling, and Gray redoubled his efforts. He had negotiated contracts all over the world and knew how to cut through red tape, but this was uncharted territory. He was floundering, and he hated it.