“We will be, but we need to pop into the kebab shop first,” Jono said.
Wade perked up at that, grinning widely. “Gyros?”
“Kebabs.”
“Whatever. It’s a tasty food wrap, and I want ten of them.”
“You think the same person still owns the shop?” Patrick asked as they walked down the street.
Jono shrugged. “I’m out of the loop with everything here. The shop might not even be there anymore. In which case, we’ll go to the Black Knight where I used to work.”
“Oh, hey! They have snacks,” Wade said, pointing at the corner shop across the street.
“We’ll get you lunch in a few minutes,” Sage said.
“But the gyros place won’t have chocolate.”
The light changed and they crossed the street. Jono was unsurprised when Wade darted into the corner shop. Sage sighed loudly before turning to follow him. “Order me a mixed doner kebab. We’ll be there as soon as I can pry Wade out of the candy aisle.”
“Good luck with that,” Patrick said.
The kebab shop was several shop fronts down, and the smell of greasy meat and chips hung heavy on the air outside it. The door was propped open, and a couple of people were eating at the counter by the window. They stepped inside, and Jono was glad to see that Ahmed was still working behind the counter.
The djinn hadn’t cared about his status as an independent werecreature when he lived here. All Ahmed cared about was Jono’s ability to pay for food. They’d been friendly in their interactions, but they weren’t mates.
“Huh,” Patrick said from beside him, the quiet curiosity in the tone easy enough for Jono to decipher.
“He’s not like the bloke in Chicago,” Jono said.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Ahmed was looking at them through narrowed eyes, smelling a bit uneasy to Jono’s nose. The djinn still looked exactly the same as he had years ago on the night Jono and Marek had eaten dinner and had a chat about his future. Jono stepped up to the till and shoved his sunglasses up on top of his head.
Ahmed’s eyes went wide. “Never thought I’d see you walk through my doors again, Jono. I thought you’d left for the States?”
“I did. I’m back temporarily,” Jono replied. “I was hoping we could chat.”
Ahmed pointed at the sign bolted over the food prep counter, listing out the kebab shop’s menu with corresponding pictures. “Better feed yourself first.”
Food in exchange for information was a cheap price to pay. “All right. Two fish and chips, one mixed doner kebab, and ten doner kebabs.”
Ahmed didn’t blink. “That’s a lot of food for just the two of you.”
“It’ll get eaten.”
Ahmed placed the order in the tablet, and Jono stuck his card in the reader on the counter. The total wasn’t terrible because the prices were cheap enough. While the cook on duty started filling their order, Ahmed crossed his arms over his chest and studied Jono with dark brown eyes in an expressionless face.
“Last I heard, you were exiled,” Ahmed said in a low voice.
“Still am,” Jono admitted.
“And still a bit thick, are you? What are you doing here?”
“Been out of touch with everyone. I don’t know how to reach the god pack alphas here to ask for pass-through rights for my pack. I figured you might be able to point me in the right direction.”
Ahmed’s thick eyebrows crept toward his hairline. “Your pack?”
“Yeah. My pack.”
